Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 December 2022
159. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the way that he plans to increase renewables to meet 80% of Ireland's electricity needs by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62954/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Climate Action Plan 2021 outlined a range of measures to set Ireland on course to meeting our ambitious target to increase the share of electricity demand generated from renewable sources to up to 80% by 2030. The next Climate Action Plan ,which will include measures to deliver on renewable electricity targets, is expected to be published shortly.
The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is one of the major Government policies to help deliver on Ireland’s renewable electricity targets. The first RESS auction is expected to deliver circa 1,000 MW of new renewable generation, an approximate 15% increase in Ireland’s current renewable energy generation capacity, by the end of 2023.
The second RESS auction (RESS 2) was held this year and is expected to deliver an increase of nearly 20% in Ireland’s renewable energy generation by the end of 2025. At the end of October, my Department published a consultation on the design of the third RESS auction (RESS 3), which will take place next year.
At least three offshore energy auctions are currently planned for this decade. Terms and Conditions for the first Offshore RESS auction were published on 10 November, providing a pivotal moment in the delivery of offshore wind in Ireland. The offshore auction, the first in Ireland's history, is expected to provide a route to market for up to 2.5GW of offshore renewable energy to the Irish grid, enough to power 2.5 million Irish homes with clean electricity.
The Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS) offers support to domestic and non-domestic applicants for renewable installations up to 50kW. The MSS aims to support the installation of an estimated 380 MW of new micro-generation by 2030, which would generate over 300 GWh of renewable electricity per annum.
My Department is also progressing the design of a Small-Scale Generation Support Scheme (SSG), to support renewable electricity generators above 50kW but smaller than those supported under the RESS. This scheme is expected to become available in 2023.
