Caít Keane (Fine Gael)
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The only coverage was for the negative bit – that there was a protest outside against wind turbines. There was nothing about what happened inside Dublin Castle. It is necessary to put the entire picture on the table. I live in Dublin which means I do not live in either the midlands or in Mayo. The full picture must be given to people. We should have a presentation on when and if the lights go off and the factual situation on permanent capacity at the moment. We do not want to go back to the dark days. As Deputy Flanagan said, it has nothing to do with bailing out the country. It is about ensuring stability of supply from a renewable source that reduces CO2. The issue is how we go about that.

New designs for wind turbines come on-stream all the time. One design has an apron hood that reduces the height of the turbine while increasing capacity by 30%. I have not seen any company come up with such an approach even though it would involve a reduction in the minimum required distance from houses based on the height of the turbine.

I also wish to inquire about access to the grid for the wind that is produced. On 17 December 2013 a total of 50% of energy consumption was generated by wind energy. That sounds great but it does not happen every day because wind is variable and it decreases. A question mark has been raised in Germany about the variability of wind. It is not noticed in a country where there are very few wind turbines and very little production capacity but the situation changes when the use of wind turbines increases dramatically. In 2000 in Germany, the number of wind turbines was six and in 2010 there was an increase to 23. One must take into account the wear and tear on conventional fossil fuel power stations when they have to ramp up to increase production and then wind down. When every factor is included, could someone indicate the cost of the reduction in fossil fuel production or the cost of decommissioning the power stations? Witnesses will be aware of the spinning reserve that each fossil fuel power station must keep on reserve. On 17 December there was a 50% reduction in the power required from fossil fuel power stations. I have heard it said that power stations keep 90% in reserve, just in case. When one takes into account the need to have that much electricity in reserve, having other electricity being used and with no storage capacity, is it the case that when one goes around one meets oneself coming back? I have not heard the issue addressed.