Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018
508. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the planned renewable energy types that will be used to generate electricity to 2020, 2025 and 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3958/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Irish Government is fully committed to transitioning to a low carbon energy future and the 2015 Energy White Paper sets out a clear policy framework for this. This transition will not be delivered by any one single event or technology – it will be a societal transformation influenced by many different elements and marked by important milestones.
Good progress has been made to date regarding renewable electricity. Latest available data indicates that at end 2016, 27.2% of Ireland’s electricity consumption came from renewable energy sources, and a detailed breakdown by technology is presented below. Wind accounted for 82% of all renewable electricity generation by the end of 2016.
|
Renewable Technology |
% of final Electricity consumption |
|
Hydro |
2.5% |
|
Wind |
22.3% |
|
Biomass |
1.6% |
|
Landfill Gas |
0.6% |
|
Biogas |
0.1% |
|
Solar PV |
0.01% |
|
Total |
27.2% |
Regarding 2030, Ireland's National Mitigation Plan acknowledges the role played by onshore wind to date, and its critical importance out to 2030 and beyond. It also recognises that bioenergy, solar PV, offshore wind and other technologies can play a role in Ireland's renewable energy mix. There is an ambition to diversify, having due regard to cost efficiency and effectiveness criteria, Ireland's renewable generation portfolio over the period between 2020 and 2030.
EirGrid's 2017 ‘Tomorrow's Energy Scenarios’ also identifies opportunities for ocean energy, bioenergy, hydro, offshore and onshore wind and solar PV expansion under 4 distinct scenarios. These scenarios each suggest different levels of generation capacity for each technology, however these figures are highly dependent upon policy decisions taken over the coming decade.
The recast Renewable Energy Directive, establishes an EU wide binding target of 27% renewable energy for 2030 (rather than a binding national target). The European Parliament recently voted to increase this target to 35% and this EU wide level of ambition is now subject to further negotiations at EU level. My Department is currently developing a Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) which will incentivise sufficient investment in the renewable electricity sector to deliver Ireland’s contribution to the final EU wide target out to 2030. Work undertaken to date has appraised the cost effectiveness and viability of a wide range of renewable energy technologies and this work included appraising the cost impact of deploying these technologies against a range of renewable electricity ambitions in 2020, 2025 and 2030.
At this point no final decisions have been made as regards which technologies will be supported under the new RESS and subject to Government approval and a formal EU State Aid approval process, the new scheme is expected to open in 2019.
