Mr. John Reilly:

In terms of the Mount Lucas wind farm in County Offaly, it is an 84 MW wind farm. We would have put in place a community benefit package, as we always do, when we are developing some of these large infrastructural projects. That particular wind farm is putting approximately €100,000 per annum into the local community. The package is split among a number of different areas. There is support for various projects locally. For example, in the village of Daingean, there would have been support for the laying of an astro pitch at a local national school where the grass was no longer suitable for playing on. Initiatives such as playground projects, which are community based, were supported also.

We are also continuing to develop what we call a near neighbour scheme where we are trying to make sure that the neighbours closest to the wind farm benefit most from the package. There is always conflict between the package and how it is disbursed locally and trying to make sure it benefits those who live closest to the wind farm. In that regard, we are looking at supporting energy retrofits, developing community energy projects, scholarships and so on. All of those type of initiatives are considered under the particular terms of reference of the scheme.

The other development we have done at Mount Lucas, as Mr. Donnellan alluded to, is opened up the site as an amenity. To answer the question on the development of further amenity spaces, trying to commercialise something like Lough Boora parklands is a challenge but where those amenities can be developed, co-located with commercial enterprises such as renewable developments such as wind farms, we believe that is the way to go. That is a very considerable amenity. It is opened up to people in terms of walkways and cycle ways. We have installed the outdoor fitness centres and so on, working in conjunction with the local community.

The final action we have taken in Mount Lucas is created an energy hub from an educational perspective. We get tens of thousands of school visits and visits from various interest groups where we try to tell the Bord na Móna story from start to finish. The real idea behind it, however, is to promote the fact that renewable energy is here and it is good, despite the challenges faced in developing major infrastructure. That project has gone very well.

It is our intention to continue to develop those sorts of packages around any of our wind farms or solar farms. It is interesting that the footprint of a solar farm will take up much more space. Typically, the footprint of a wind farm takes up approximately 2% or 3% of the land, therefore, there is a good deal of space for other developments including biodiversity and so on.

With regard to the question on the electricity exchange project, which is a very interesting one, one of the major challenges of any electric power system is the instantaneous balancing of demand and generation. As we move into the green space, most of the generation is being provided by what we call intermittent sources, that is, wind and sun. The sun does not shine at night time and the wind does not always blow, so managing that power system is becoming a greater challenge in terms of keeping on the lights. It is infinitely doable, but one of the techniques used for that is what we call demand side management. Rather than switching on generation when demand rises, there is an opportunity to take demand off the power system, for example, refrigeration, which does not need to be kept on all the time. The men and women in the electricity exchange are working on software. It is really a start-up software development company that can effectively use technology to instantaneously help manage that power system balance. When we have a power system like the one we are headed for, which will be dominated by renewable generation, managing intermittency will be one of the biggest challenges.

In terms of the biomass element, biomass provides instantaneous thermal load to help manage that power system, while providing renewable energy. That is one of the ways of doing it. The other way is on the demand management side. Bord na Móna is playing on both sides of that, effectively, we hope, contributing towards the achievement of national greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and renewable energy penetration targets.