Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 8 May 2014

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications

EU Energy Policy: European Commission

12:15 pm

Mr. Eric Mamer:

Let me start with the last question first. I understand that Ireland is doing very well when it comes to the target on renewable energy and has overshot the first intermediary target which was set at 5.6% of renewable energy. Ireland has a very ambitious target for renewable energy by 2020, of 16% of consumption, starting from quite a low base. The road ahead poses significant challenges and will require significant investment, but for the moment the path seems to be positive.

It is slightly less so when it comes to meeting the target on greenhouse gas emission reductions, particularly in areas outside of the emissions trading system, ETS sector, namely, in all areas not linked to energy production and industry. Projections up to 2020 show that Ireland will have a slight reduction compared to the base line, but not as much of a reduction as required to meet the target. Ireland is not alone in this predicament. Approximately half of the member states are in this situation, based on the latest data available. This shows the difficulty in terms of organising the whole system in such a way that it produces the required results

In regard to the role of agriculture, it is clear this is a sensitive issue, particularly for Ireland. Agriculture is probably the most difficult area across the board when it comes to determining the requirements needed in the agriculture area and what agriculture can bring to the overall reduction in emissions. According to the data I have, the agricultural sector would have to reduce its emissions by approximately 25% by 2030 in order to contribute its share to the overall reduction in emissions. This is a significant contribution, approximately the same reduction as required from the industry sector. It will take quite an effort to achieve this.

I believe the debate will continue over the coming months as to what is required in order for this to happen and how we can take into account the special circumstances of specific countries with a large agricultural sector in the context of this policy and the impact it has on the overall target. I have not come here with a solution, but have come to make a clear statement that we are fully aware of the centrality of this theme when it comes to the discussion with Ireland. I am sure that in the coming weeks - as there will now be a series of meetings with Irish representatives and the European institutions - the subject will be thoroughly debated.

On the pros and cons of renewable energy, let me make it clear that the debate on pylons is not limited to Ireland. The country my Commissioner knows best, Germany, is also in the middle of a lively debate regarding the transmission lines that will be required from the North Sea, where there is the best potential for offshore winds, to the main consumption centres in the south of Germany where the big industrial companies operate. There is heated debate there on the requirement to build these transmission lines, with some constituencies, such as Bavaria, saying they do not want wind energy from the north, but want to produce their own energy.

My Commissioner's view on this is very clear. We need to have both decentralised and centralised energy production and the relevant grids that go with them, in particular in countries that have a significant share of industry. However, if we do not have transmission lines, every region must be autocratic when it comes to energy production, but that will not work on the European scale. This does not mean there is no space for local energy production. This is something we promote, particularly when it comes to heating or photovoltaic panels on roofs in regions with a favourable environment. There must be a rational effort to ensure we produce renewable energy where it is available and competitive in the medium term and then bring it to the consumption centres.

That said, we also recognise that the voice of local communities must be heard. This is foreseen in Ireland's national legislation and in the European legislation. We believe debate must take place in a national context in order to determine the best choice for the country, because there is no one size fits all solution for this. In certain cases, it is a question of money, particularly in the context of deciding whether a country is willing to invest the extra funds required in order to bury the lines. In some instances this is not a technical possibility and in some there may be different ways of organising energy production so as to avoid it.

We do not have a standard answer. We recognise the difficulty of the issue, but we also say that if we are serious about large scale production at European level, it is clear we are going to have to use the renewable energy potential where it is. When we look at the map of Europe, we see this is in part on the outer rim or offshore, off the shores of Ireland, Germany, the UK, France, Spain, etc., while consumption is very much inland. Therefore, we have to organise the flow, particularly when it comes to energy.

In regard to the crisis in Ukraine and the implications for the European Union and Ireland, even in the coldest moments of the Cold War, Russian gas continued to flow to Europe. Therefore, we are working on the basis that the Russian Federation will do everything it can to remain the reliable partner it has been when it comes to delivery of energy to Europe. For the moment, despite all the difficulties in Ukraine, there has been no interruption of gas flow to Europe. However, we believe we need to be prepared. Since the last crisis in 2009, when there was some impact on some member states, we have been doing considerable work to reinforce interconnection in Europe so as to allow gas to flow, not just from the east to the west, but from the west to the east.

Six of our most vulnerable member states depend 100% on Russian gas. As a result, they require access to new sources of gas. This can only happen if the pipelines we have in place allow for the transfer of gas - be it liquified natural gas, LNG, or Russian gas that has been sold to Germany or Poland and then transferred on to the south east of Europe or the Baltics - from west to east.

I am less knowledgeable with regard to from where Ireland gets its gas. I believe, however, that it may come in part from Norway and that some of it takes the form of LNG.

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