Mr. Garrett Blaney:

We are quite active in looking at renewable energy projects and their impact on the network. I chair a group at European level that is looking at the future of networks and what micro-generation is doing to those networks. Let us take an example of the networks in Italy. The old Italian network was designed on the basis of the generator, and, as my colleague commissioner Aoife MacEvilly described, energy goes through the transmission system and the distribution system to the home. Micro-generation turned that on its head. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, nobody is consuming much energy in Italy, as everybody is out enjoying themselves, but they have massive production because of all the solar panels on the roofs. The distribution system is feeding energy back into the transmission system. Micro-generation has a significant impact on the way the system is run and governed. From our point of view, there is a cost element. Our renewable policy in Ireland has been relatively cheap for what has been delivered to date. We need to ensure that continues. Obviously it is a matter for the Government to decide on renewable energy policy, but our advice is to keep a very close eye on the cost of it all. Micro-generation should be in the mix, just like any other option.