Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2020
176. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Climate Action and Communication Networks the extent to which he expects to reduce dependency on fossil fuels in the next five years by way of renewable energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25538/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government confirms that a reliable supply of safe, secure and clean energy is essential in order to deliver a phase-out of fossil fuels. The Government is committed to the rapid decarbonisation of the energy sector and will take the necessary action to deliver at least 70% renewable electricity by 2030. In parallel, decarbonising the electricity system combined with increased electrification of heat and transport through the use of electric vehicles and heat pumps is an important part of the strategy for decarbonising the energy system as a whole. The use of renewable electricity ensures that switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps does not result in greater CO2 emissions than the fossil fuel alternative.
The Climate Action Plan included a commitment to deliver at least 3.5 GW of offshore wind by 2030, up to 8.2 GW of onshore wind and up to 1.5 GW of solar; the Programme for Government commits to a further increase in offshore wind deployment to 5 GW by 2030.
The Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) in their Energy in Ireland – 2019 report have estimated that the share of electricity from renewable energy increased almost five-fold between 2005 and 2018 – from 7.2% to 33.2% – an increase of 26 percentage points over 13 years. The provisional figure for electricity in 2019 is 36.7%, 6.5% for heat and 8.5% for transport. The SEAI estimated that renewable energy additionally avoided 4.9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and €623 million of fossil fuel imports in 2018 with the carbon intensity of electricity falling to less than half what it was in 2000.
Ireland’s National Energy and Climate Plan (Table 6 of the Plan) sets out estimated trajectories by renewable energy technology in order to achieve the overall and sectoral trajectories for renewable energy from 2021 to 2030. These technology levels are indicative and for electricity the level of each technology will be driven by technology costs and competitive auctions under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).
Question No. 177 answered with Question No. 175.
