Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 4 December 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Renewable Energy - Wind, Solar and Biogas: Discussion

Mr. John Fitzgerald:

It is an excellent question. We have had perhaps 15 years of experience of onshore wind and there is a supply of 3 GW or 4 GW in the country. We build and service this but there are no export jobs or there is not a significant amount of materials made in this country for export. I have outlined an export proposal but we do not have the required personnel today. We would need to plan today to start this and it is not around the corner. I am not talking about the auction next year or the year afterwards. I am talking about ten years down the line and developing an approach to set people up and then encourage and foster them. We can then talk about tens of thousands of jobs to develop industries and to become a leader in an element of the supply chain. We will not become leaders across the supply chain but there are elements of the supply chain where we could become leaders and grow indigenous jobs that are sustainable and could be a source of wealth and income for the country, even if a turbine is built in another country rather than in our own waters.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.