Dr. David Connolly:

I will address the question about offshore electricity generation. Ireland has a huge wind resource. To give a sense of that, an SEAI report once estimated Ireland's wind resource at approximately 45,000 MW. We currently have approximately 3,000 MW. Our opinion in the Irish Wind Energy Association, IWEA, would be that it is about trying cost-effectively to get the best projects for the consumer out of that huge resource onto our system. With that in mind, we would commend the Department's proposal in the recent RESS for there to be technology neutral auctions. In that case, projects could compete with one another and the most cost-effective would then be brought forward to be developed.

In that sense, the consumer is getting the best value projects onto the system. The IWEA's view is that the key to making that happen is for policy to remove any unnecessary barriers for either onshore or offshore companies when they access technology neutral auctions. Over time, as the price of offshore wind comes down and as the best sites for onshore wind begin to be used up, we are likely to see a transition where more offshore wind starts to come onto the system throughout the next decade. There should at least be more diversity in our portfolio. It is not about picking one over the other. It is about providing a platform where they can compete against each other for the most cost-effective projects to come forward. We call on policymakers to make sure that both technologies do not face unnecessary barriers in accessing the market, grid, planning and so on.

Deputy Dooley mentioned that the electricity sector is predominantly represented at this meeting. We echo that the shortfall is primarily in heat and transport but I reiterate they can take two lessons from the electricity sector. One is that the key to the success in the sector was a long-term stable policy. Energy is not something that can be fixed in a short two or three-term horizon. One has to have a long-term perspective because of the scale of the changes that are necessary. The sector has demonstrated how that can be achieved. Second, I echo the views on how electricity can be a key part of the solution to decarbonising heat and transport. We often use an electric vehicle or a heat pump, for example. They are three to four times more efficient than the fossil fuel alternative that is used. Electricity is a fundamental part of the solution to the shortfall in heat and transport.