Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the representatives from the suppliers to the meeting. If one thinks of it, a few short years ago there was only one supplier and we would deal with the Regulator. It is to be welcomed that the market has opened up. To pre-empt the response to the Senator's question, I understand that in the past few years, I am sure in big part due to the opening up of the market, we have seen a reduction in the domestic electricity prices. Today, the concern, because of the considerable coverage of the drop in gas and oil prices, is what that means for consumers. This offers a great opportunity to drill down and look at the components of the electricity bill that consumers receive.

The part I would like to look at is the wholesale price. It follows on from Deputy Harrington's point. On wind energy, there is a large wind resource in my county, County Mayo. Of course, we face challenges in developing wind farms at this juncture. It was not so a few years ago, I might add. In recent years, there seems to be more concern about the development of them. From the point of view of cost, and the fact that we have a renewables policy that we must follow and we must develop some form of renewable energy, they might speak to the cost effectiveness of wind, as the chosen renewable source. At what point might we see the removal of the necessity of a refit tariff for the generators? The companies represented here are not all generators but some of them are.

We talk about the cost of electricity but, equally, when we go to another committee, the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht, we must look at carbon emissions targets. As well as the good environmental benefits, we are obliged to use more renewables to diversify our dependency on carbon fuels. Would any member of the delegation care to comment on Government policy and European strategy for the future that will impact on electricity prices and the renewable of choice? I have heard many groups which have come in suggest it is not wind and it should be something else, and that by the time one puts the concrete in the ground it neutralises the carbon credits one gets. I seek feedback on the way we should proceed and what the mix should be. We all know wind is not the ultimate solution in that the system cannot take wind because it does not blow all the time, etc. I would appreciate some comments on that and its cost to the consumer, which is reflected also in the build-out of the grid because of the need to take the wind energy from the windy parts in the west and along the western seaboard.

There is one other point related to the delivery of wind projects. As I stated, they are not all in the generation business. I can only speak from my experience in my county that while a few years ago there seemed to be a positive feeling among the public about wind energy, unfortunately, much of that has dissipated. I would blame much of the coverage on the midlands project, much of which was misunderstood. There was a lot of bravado in terms of selling the projects in terms of delivering supply to the United Kingdom, and in the process the change required of the ordinary person and in communities was not taken into account. That put people off. I ask the representatives, particularly those of SSE Airtricity, to comment. SSE Airtricity has a project in Dunneill, only up the road from me, and I have visited it. There are also State companies which have interests in developing wind farms. The contrast between the turbulence of the State companies in dealing with the public and the way SSE Airtricity has dealt with the public is stark. In essence, SSE Airtricity cultivated a recipe of community gain in dealing with the public and the landowners. The feedback I get from the community is positive. I contrast it with what I see Bord na Móna and Coillte doing. That is not taking from the merits of the projects. On the public relations side, and bearing in mind that the public acceptance of these projects has a big bearing on the ability to deliver them, I wonder do they have any observations on that or whether they have a particular formula for doing it because the approach to the public on the delivery of wind is in danger of scuppering or unduly delaying many projects.