Mr. Justin Moran:

I thank the committee for the invitation. I am joined by my colleagues, Mr. Devane, senior policy analyst, and Ms Conaghan, head of the environment and planning group at Arthur Cox and a member of the council of Wind Energy Ireland.

We are living in a global climate and energy crisis. The job of our members, in helping to respond to these dual threats, is to deliver the renewable energy targets set out in the climate action plan, which require a doubling of our onshore wind energy capacity and the construction of approximately seven to ten offshore wind farms. The focus of our contributions will, therefore, be on how the planning system can be improved to ensure these targets, which must be met to deliver our legally binding carbon emissions reductions, can be delivered.

Before making some comments specific to the Bill, I will highlight the issue of resources, which has been mentioned a couple of times. It is essential that An Bord Pleanála, along with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, and key environmental stakeholders, has the resources and expertise to operate a fair, robust and accessible planning system. As we have said publicly on many occasions, including before the committee, An Bord Pleanála simply does not have anything like the resources needed to deal with the volume and complexity of planning applications for projects necessary to deliver the climate action plan. We cannot decarbonise our energy system if we cannot quickly build wind farms and grid connections, and we cannot get projects permitted fast enough, and robustly enough, without more inspectors, ecologists and administrative staff in An Bord Pleanála, all supported by a well-resourced legal department. I ask the committee to include this recommendation in its report.

We welcome the proposal in section 108 to include mandatory timelines for decisions. As committee members may be aware, the current objective for An Bord Pleanála is to decide on a wind farm strategic infrastructure development, SID, application or appeal in 18 weeks. The average for appeals in 2021 was 42 weeks, rising to 58 weeks in 2022. In 2021, the average for SID decisions was 68 weeks, rising to 76 last year. Given the complexity of wind farm applications, we accept that 18 weeks is not enough time for a decision, however, a properly resourced and effectively-run planning authority should be able to make these decisions in 20 to 30 weeks. I ask the committee to propose that in its report. On the matter of fines, as set out in subsection 3, we recommend dropping this proposal. Rather than taking money from An Bord Pleanála, we should be investing in training and supporting the board’s staff.

Committee members will recall during pre-legislative scrutiny of the then marine planning and development management Bill, my colleagues explained that at the time an application for planning is submitted for a wind farm, the exact type and dimensions of a turbine, as well as its base and position can be difficult and even impossible to know. Adjustments may be required post consent to the routing of a cable or the exact turbine location, particularly for offshore projects. In its pre-legislative scrutiny report, the committee recommended that "consideration be given to the allowance of design envelope flexibility subject to periodic review as part of the planning process in instances where there are no detrimental environmental impacts". Regrettably, the Minister did not adopt the proposal. We ask the committee to again support the sustainable development of renewable energy by recommending the deletion of section 113(2)(d) and the amending of section 111(3)(b) by the insertion of the text provided in my written submission. A degree of design flexibility will enable our members to deploy the most efficient technologies and to minimise the environmental impact of development.

When a wind farm reaches its operational end of life, which is generally between 30 and 35 years, owners of such wind farms face a choice. They can decommission the wind farm, meaning it is shut down, the turbines dismantled and the land restored, or they can repower, meaning they replace the existing turbines with new technology. This allows them to continue to use existing infrastructure in a location where the wind farm is familiar to the community. In one repowering project currently being developed by of our members, they plan to replace 25 turbines, which have a generating capacity of 15 MW, with between 12 to 13 turbines with a generating capacity of 60 MW to 70 MW - fewer turbines, more power.

The more wind farms decommissioned, the more installed renewable capacity is lost and the more difficult it becomes to deliver the climate action plan. We believe it is reasonable for the committee to recommend that there be a presumption in law for the approval of applications for planning permission from repowering projects. As the December EU regulation on accelerating the deployment of renewable energy states, "The repowering of renewable energy power plants is an option for rapidly increasing renewable energy production with the least impact on the grid infrastructure and the environment."

We also ask the committee to consider making a proposal regarding the duration of the operational life of wind farms to be included in planning permissions. Historically, most wind farm planning permissions in Ireland included a condition that restricts their operational life to 20 or 25 years. To continue operation, the wind farm operator must apply for planning permission for life extension. This can be a costly and time-consuming process. There are operating wind farms that were granted planning permission in the 1990s without a condition limiting their life. Our oldest wind farm is more than 30 years old and still generating power. We ask the committee to recommend to the Minister that the Bill includes a provision ruling out restrictions on the duration of the operational life of wind farms granted planning permission.

We welcome the introduction of section 184, which recognises the overwhelming imperative reasons of public interest to deliver the renewable energy projects that will be required to meet our legally binding carbon emissions reductions. This helps to give us a fighting chance of reaching the 2030 targets. We strongly recommend that the committee endorses this provision in its report.

We welcome the expedited timelines for judicial review decisions as set out in section 249 but, as drafted, they would not apply to a judicial review of a decision made by the new Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, to grant a marine area consent, MAC, under the Marine Area Planning Act 2021. Conscious of the cross-party support for offshore wind energy expressed at this committee on several occasions, we ask the committee to recommend that section 249 be amended to bring decisions by MARA regarding MACs under the scope of the expedited judicial review timelines.

We thank committee members for the opportunity to meet with them today and hope to be able to make a more substantive written submission to the committee before the conclusion of the pre-legislative scrutiny process. We are happy to take any questions.