Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 October 2016
38. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to ban fossil fuels here and immediately decrease domestic dependency on them by increasing investments in and the use of renewable energy alternatives. [31826/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe overarching objective of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. A well balanced fuel mix that provides reliable energy, minimises costs and protects against supply disruptions and price volatility, is essential to Irish consumers and businesses.
The Energy White Paper, Ireland's Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015-2030, published in December last, sets out a vision and a framework to guide Irish energy policy and the actions that Government intends to take in the energy sector from now up to 2030, aimed at transforming Ireland's fossil-fuel based energy sector into a clean, low carbon system by 2050.
The Government has a range of policy measures and schemes in place to accelerate the development and diversification of renewable energy in Ireland. These include the REFIT schemes which underpin the development of a range of renewable electricity technologies, including hydro, biomass combustion, biomass combined heat and power, landfill gas and onshore wind. Small scale renewable generation is also eligible for support under the REFIT scheme;
Two new renewables support schemes are under development. These are:
- a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) aimed at increasing renewables in the heat sector, and
- a Renewable Electricity Support Scheme aimed at providing support for renewable electricity (RESS).
An initial public consultation was initiated for both schemes in 2015. A further consultation for the RHI is planned before year-end, with the scheme being fully operational in the second half of 2017. A further RESS consultation is due to take place in the first quarter of 2017, with the broad details of the scheme being published later in 2017. Finalisation of these schemes is subject to Government and State aid approval from the European Commission.
In 2015, 9.1% of Ireland's overall energy requirements were met from renewable sources and SEAI has estimated that this avoided €286 million of fossil fuel imports. The introduction of measures to reduce Ireland's fossil use and GHG emissions over the long-term need to strike a balance between meeting our overarching long-term decarbonisation objectives, with the need for low carbon, secure and affordable energy today.
