Mr. John Reilly:

Senator Landy asked how many turbines we proposed to build in Mayo. We have a planning application in with An Bord Pleanála to build 112 turbines on our cutaway peatlands in Mayo, which is representative of a project of approximately 350 MW, which will be a direct connection to the national grid in support of our 40% 2020 targets. Senator Landy also made reference to our having already hit our 40% target, which I did not fully understand. We have not hit our 40% target. The latest indication is that we hit the 20% target for renewable electricity in 2012. We still have a way to go to hit the domestic targets. Beyond that, there are sufficient projects in the pipeline between various players, including private developers and some of the commercial semi-state companies, to achieve that. I do not think anybody expects all of those projects to go ahead. There are various elements of projects that need to be assigned grid connections and, crucially, planning permission. Bord na Móna tries to ensure that it invests in the development of projects that have the best possibility of seeing the light of day. Thankfully, it has not failed yet. I cannot say, however, that we would never fail from a planning perspective.

In regard to the EU abandoning its targets beyond 2030, that is not the case. The recent EU announcement indicates that the European Union will move from a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to a proposed 40% reduction by 2030 and from a proposed 20% renewable energy target to a 27% target, which would not, as current targets are, be binding at member state level but at a European level. This will bring into play the spectre of energy co-operation between EU member states, which is vital to the achievement of future decarbonisation targets across Europe in a cost-effective manner.

The export project that we are here to discuss today could form the cornerstone of what Europe is doing as it seeks to decarbonise its power system in the period to 2030, 2050 and beyond.