Mr. Stephen Wheeler:

I will start with Senator Michelle Mulherin's questions about committing to reaching Ireland's targets and Irish policy. The Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten's Department should be commended for the great work that has been done on the White Paper which is an excellent piece of work. The engagement and collaboration with the industry and local communities have been incredibly positive. What we now have is a really strong vision for the future for Ireland. Underneath it, we need details, in particular of support for the use of renewables. REFIT is coming to an end and we need details of what will actually replace it. We understand it will be a competitive option, which we welcome and call for its timely completion.

The other big challenge in delivering on our vision is presented by our connection policy. We have a significant number of megawatts stuck in a grid queue. While the CER recognises this and is working towards an enduring connection policy, we need to see the details and it completed in a timely way.

There are some challenges in planning, of which we are all aware. A pragmatic view and conclusion would be helpful.

The last issue is carbon pricing, in particular how Ireland can strengthen its EU ETS scheme to have a true price for carbon in the system in order that future investment can be made on a secure basis. In that regard, what is most important is certainty as investment is driven by it.

There was also a question about the 2016 EU renewables directive. It is important to remember that the directive is in addition to an existing one. While it focuses on reaching the 2030 targets, SSE believes maintaining the figure of 40% to 2030 will present a significant challenge, but it is something Ireland should be encouraged to continue to do. We do not see huge change in the new directive. It is really about deciding and determining the final target for 2030 and how Ireland can play a part in reaching it. That brings us back to the issue of a competitive advantage. We talk about the Brexit negotiations. Ireland has a huge competitive advantage when it comes to the generation of renewable energy, particularly wind energy. We need to look at how we can maximise it and continue to be a leader in Europe.

Senator Michelle Mulherin talked about storage. I commend the great work being done by EirGrid on DS3 and the issue of flexibility in how renewables will integrate with a previously conventional system. Work on the issue of storage is progressing and the cost of the technology use has reduced significantly in the past few years, but it still has some way to go. The work we are seeing on DS3 means that we will get to a point where we will have a 75% penetration rate on the system at any one time. It should be acknowledged that Ireland is leading across Europe and the world in that regard.

Senator Joe O'Reilly talked about wave energy. When one looks at Irish waters, there is an abundance of opportunities. The challenge is presented by technology. The advancements in technology for wind energy production far outweigh those in the case of wave energy. That is the reality. When we look at how we will continue to decarbonise the economy in the future, we need to look at new ways of producing more renewable energy. We strongly believe offshore wind energy projects present a fantastic opportunity in that regard. Recent studies show that we could produce over 4.5 GW of wind energy offshore along the east coast. We should think about where the demand is. It is very much on the east coast and can be matched with the production of renewable energy, including wind energy offshore along the east coast. As the cost of technology is continuing to fall, the production of energy offshore presents a real opportunity for Ireland.

Senator Joe O'Reilly also talked about the deficit in Northern Ireland. While security of supply in Northern Ireland is obviously an imperative, we must also look at the overall benefits, not only the North-South interconnector. I spoke about the single electricity market and the integrated single electricity market. The completion of the integrated single electricity market will deliver further benefits for our customers. What we are trying to do is to deliver a system that will provide a sustainable and reliable power supply for our customers in the most cost-effective way. Projects such as the single electricity market, I-SEM and the North-South interconnector will continue to do this.

I will pass on to Ms Madden who will speak about interconnection.