Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the representatives of the CRU. I wish to inquire about the efficiency of the CRU in granting the various generation licences, certificates of high efficiency and so forth to organisations and individuals who want to get into electricity generation. I refer in particular to the Mayo Renewable Power project for the 45 MW high efficiency combined heat and power plant, which will be biomass fuelled, at the former Asahi site in Mayo. This project has been ongoing for some time and it took from approximately 2006 to 2015 for the project to get all the consents in place, including a certificate of high efficiency at 100%. In 2016, the project ran into difficulty with the boiler which led some investors to pull out. Thankfully, it is now back on track. Basically, there is a new promoter who is trying to replicate the same project with the same design, proposition and so forth. There is no material change to it. It needs four consents from four different authorities, including the CRU. It has succeeded in getting consents from Mayo County Council, for planning permission, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and ESB Networks.

However, an application was made to the CRU in June for the consent it requires but it appears to be encountering a great deal of difficulty. First, the certificate of high efficiency which was granted at 100% previously was given a 70% rating by consultants retained by the CRU. I am aware that the CRU has gone back to the drawing board on that because there has been no indication of where there is a material change in the proposition. Mayo Renewable Power has no idea when the consent will come through. It is a €255 million project, and €95 million has already been spent on it by the investors. It has strategic national significance in that it will help us achieve our renewable electricity targets and in meeting heating targets. With regard to the region, it is required for the development of a data centre for which there is planning permission. It has been identified by the county council, the IDA and everybody involved as being of strategic importance but the project is in danger of falling flat on its back-----