Renewable Energy Generation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 March 2024

Thursday, 7 March 2024

Ceisteanna (86)

Catherine Connolly

Ceist:

86. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications further to Parliamentary Question No. 122 of 25 January 2024, the date on which the export tariff phase of the small-scale renewable energy support scheme will be launched; the status of the work by economic consultants for his Department regarding the revision of the levelised cost of energy estimates required for small scale and community based generation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11059/24]

Freagraí ó Béal (14 píosaí cainte)

Deputy Catherine Connolly

As the Minister knows, I am following up this issue for some time. The question relates to community-led small-scale renewable projects. I ask him to give us an update on that mouthful – in terms of the date on which the export tariff phase of the small-scale renewable energy support scheme will be launched and the status of the work by the economic consultants for his Department regarding the revision of the levelised cost of energy estimates. That is a mouthful. We might come back to the language being used here.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

Through the first two renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, auctions, my Department provided pathways and supports for communities to participate in renewable energy projects through the application of a community projects category. However, in the future, support for communities for the development of renewable projects will now transition to the small-scale renewable electricity support scheme, SRESS. The SRESS will not be auction-based, rather it is anticipated that support for export projects would be through an export tariff.

The export tariff phase of the SRESS, which will support small-scale and community renewable projects, is expected to launch within the coming weeks in the second quarter of this year.

The SRESS will offer a simpler route to market for community renewable projects, aligning more closely to their experience and capacity. In order to reflect up to date trends in input prices and financing costs for renewable energy technologies, an updated analysis of the levelised cost of energy estimates required for small-scale and community-based generation has been undertaken by economic consultants in order to inform the tariff setting process for the SRESS. My Department is currently reviewing this analysis to inform the final scheme design and tariff levels as well as an assessment of consumer impacts.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

I raise with the Minister the language we are using. I am on his side in terms of what he is doing. I do not know how I could explain to anyone export tariff phase of the SRESS. We are talking about community-led renewable projects, either solar or wind. The Minister might clarify what we are talking about here. Is it just solar now in this new phase of involving the community? The previous two phases involved an auction base. I appreciate that has now been changed. I welcome that. There should never have been an auction phase. Of the seven community projects in the first phase, only four remained. They were due to energise in 2023. I do not know whether they have or not.

In the second round the eight community projects that were successful were to energise by 2025. They included solar and wind. Will they energise and will they be on time in 2025?

Then we moved forward because the Minister said it was right. I happen to agree with his decision but he has given me no analysis. Therefore, I cannot learn what the problems were in the previous rounds and what the improvements are in this round. How can I lead or be part of a project on the ground for example in my community in the Claddagh? I will finish on time and come back in.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

As it happens, I had a meeting yesterday with a variety of community energy organisations. The first subject we discussed at the meeting was the fact that there is a recognition that it has not built up at anywhere near the scale, speed and diversity that we want. We will have to continue to make sure that it does and start to revise whatever programmes we have in place.

My understanding is that possibly three or four of the projects that were among the first to go through the RESS will be energised but they have had real difficulties. Of the eight projects in the second RESS auction, we expect that they will be delivered but that is not certain. The difficulties have typically revolved around grid connection and the cost of grid connection. I mentioned earlier the difficulty with planning and the timelines involved in that. There is also a difficulty in terms of the speed with which community groups are able to respond. In many of the instances a developer can make a quick decision, whereas for a community group, given the nature of the kind of inclusive process required, it takes longer.

The State has recognised that. We revised our approach by giving direct grant supports to help community groups. The SEAI administers them. We agreed yesterday that we need to be more ambitious in how they are deployed. We must not be afraid to make some risky investments where we provide grant support and a project does not actually develop or does not happen. That is part of what we need to do to help make it happen. As part of the meeting yesterday, we also met with the regulator and with the grid companies because they too have a role in making sure that we overcome the grid hurdles, which are probably the key reason that we have not seen the scale of community renewable energy projects that we want to see.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

I hope the change in the Acting Chair will benefit me in regard to the minute of speaking time allocated to me.

Given the language, I wonder how we can sell this to communities. I believe communities have been ahead of us the whole way. The Minister knows from my experience with Galway that it led the approach to zero waste. We do not get governments to lead the community, which are crying out to lead. What they need is support. The language is awful. I do not know what it means and I cannot explain it. The Minister will have to explain the SRESS to me in plain English.

Second, we still do not know if the four projects will be energised. They were supposed to be energised before the end of 2023. We do not know whether they were energised or if the others will be energised. This is positive. It is very good theoretically but I would love to see it set out in a document. Perhaps the Library and Research Service could produce a digest under the Minister's instructions.

It could explain what is going on here, what percentage of the projects is community led, what the difficulties are, why the grid connection cannot be sorted out, what the guidelines are and when the new scheme will be up and running so I can work with the Minister, my community, look at Galway city and pick out each of the communities that is self contained, such as those in The Claddagh, Shannaunnafeola and Bóthar na Trá. I could pick out any number of such communities.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

Part of the work the SEAI is doing is providing exactly that sort of information, so I will send to the Deputy some of the material it has presented.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

I am asking for an analysis from the Department. I have been asking for an analysis for ages.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

The SEAI is an agency of our Department and it is best placed. It runs the sustainable energy community scheme. We had a very good meeting yesterday, as I said, and that immediate connection between the community developers and the SEAI is important. It has presented a lot of practical and easy-to-digest information. That to my mind is a key part of how we make this work.

The new renewable scheme will be available within the coming weeks, in a short number of weeks, and it will be significant because it will provide a guaranteed price and not force community groups or others to go through a complex auction process that is intimidating and can be very hard to negotiate if you are not fully versed in the issues and do not have experience of, or a background in, developing projects. It is up to 5 MW in scale and my expectation is it will be particularly strong for solar solutions because, in truth, a lot of the smaller scale wind projects are not as economic as the larger projects. The nature of wind power has changed and scale matters in lowering costs. That is less the case for solar power.

To return to a debate we had on an earlier question, it is going to be critical for us to be able to integrate, manage and balance the system we have to make efficient use of the existing grid system. Listening to the representatives of the ESB recently, the company is showing new-----

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Colm Burke)

Minister-----

Deputy Eamon Ryan

-----and innovative flexibility in respect of how we use the existing grid. In many cases, the real cost and impediment to developing community energy is the cost of the transformer in the station and building up the capacity of the grid to be able to take it. The ESB is taking a new innovative approach-----

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Colm Burke)

Minister-----

Deputy Eamon Ryan

-----whereby it is looking at how to use flexibility within the grid and examining hybrid connections and other such measures. That approach, along with the shared renewable energy systems, SRES, could be a game-changer to allow community energy to flourish.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Colm Burke)

Minister, can we try to stick to the designated time period?

Deputy Eamon Ryan

The kettle is calling the pot black. We were only there a moment ago.

Question No. 87 taken with Written Answers.