Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have tried to give the committee information that might be useful for this evening.

As regards the lifespan, there are two things. Going back a little as to whether someone should seek an extension to the existing lifespan of a wind farm, one of the reasons for that, looking back and not being here, was that there would be a situation where, say, an existing wind farm involved technologies that are 20 years old or potentially 25 years old, and it would look to be maybe repurposed or upgraded and that would be important. If there were new technologies, or indeed new turbines, full stop, different types of turbines, larger or smaller, and in many instances they are becoming more efficient, that would form part of a further application for an extension. The lifespan of that would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, so we are not looking in this Bill to set forward a standard lifespan. The wind energy guidelines, though, are important to get a view around the area of noise and separation and that, for onshore in this instance, as to what that will look like. I will, during the course of the continued proceedings here, get an update from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on that, but, no, it is not envisaged and it is not in the current Bill that we would set a standard lifespan for it.

I fully get this from the industry perspective, by the way. There are significant investments there, and we want more renewables. We want to work with them, and that is why we have worked very hard on the offshore piece and the streamlining of that process. There is a balance, though, to be struck, as colleagues here will know, as regards the appropriate development of wind farms in the appropriate locations, in consultation with the community. The process is there, to go back to Deputy McAuliffe's amendment, for someone seeking an extension to a lifespan. Will there be a cliff edge? No, I do not expect that. There will be transitionary arrangements between the current Act and the new Act as it comes forward. We have spoken already about some of the provisions. Statutory timeframes will be in place, but if there were a delay in the board, they would still be compliant because it is still in with the planning authority.