Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the amendment. As he can imagine, I too want to raise the maximum amount of revenue possible from this Bill. The rationale for setting a €120 MW/h cap is to maintain positive investment signals, and that is according to Article 8.2.(c) of the European Council regulation that we are implementing. We want to make sure that Ireland remains an attractive location for climate investment in order for Ireland to secure the investment required in renewable projects to meet our climate targets.

The price level of €120 MW/h is in line with the contracted strike prices under the renewable energy support scheme. This demonstrates that a double-sided contract for difference which involves payback when market prices exceed €1€20 MW/h does not hinder investment in wind generation. Coal, oil, peat, biomass and so on, by comparison, will experience no increase in unexpected revenue due to the variable cap proposed by the Department. The variable cap contained in Article 8.2.(c) would allow for a cost recovery to operate for the generation units and there will be a maximum marginal limit based on the historical average margin received from 2018 to 2021.

Following detailed discussion with a number of stakeholders, the Department is satisfied that the best available data was used to define windfall gains and to set an appropriate level of cap. For that reason, I do not propose to accept the amendment.