Dr. David Connolly:

I will focus on how wind energy is delivered at a national level, especially in terms of targets. Wind energy is delivering and the latest figures suggest that over 25% of electricity last year was delivered from onshore wind, putting Ireland at No. 2 in the world for wind penetration. This is an amazing achievement and something that has come about thanks to a long-term, stable policy backed up by an industry that has been able to deliver. The electricity sector demonstrates how Ireland can be successful in delivering renewable energy to our energy system.

We have mentioned the 16% renewable energy target by 2020. With wind energy expected to provide in the region of 35% of our electricity in 2020, we expect it to make up half of that target. It will be just short of 8% of the target and this demonstrates how the industry is delivering on the national target. We expect it will avoid between €600 million and €700 million in compliance costs that would arise if the industry was not developed.

Reference has been made to how the PSO levy subsidises the development of renewable electricity but there is also a benefit for the consumer on the other side, because renewable electricity brings down the wholesale cost. Studies by reputable organisations such as the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland SEAI, the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, and the European Commission have all concluded that onshore wind in Ireland is cost-neutral to the consumer because of that dynamic. This is important in the context of the discussion of how we cost-effectively implement renewable energy in Ireland. We are at 3,200 MW and we expect to grow to around 4,300 MW in 2020 but we can do more if there is a shortfall in other sectors because a large pipeline of wind projects is available.