Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I thank our guests from the Department, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, Tipperary Energy Agency and Friends of the Earth for attending. We are promoting the Bill as a means of putting forward alternatives because we want to provide people with a means of switching over from harmful fossil fuels to renewables. In order to address climate change, we cannot just call for an end to fossil fuels; we need solutions to directly replace fossil fuels. We need to put in place alternative energy solutions and microgeneration will form a part of this, as well as being an energy source that lowers energy bills for households, farms, industry and small businesses.

Sinn Féin's Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill 2017 means that suppliers will have to pay the householder for excess electricity supplied to the grid from small-scale renewable energy sources. It will reduce energy bills and add to the State's overall renewable energy production portfolio. Up to now, it is ordinary households and businesses that have paid high energy prices and paid for our switch to renewables. They pay to support large-scale renewable energy through the public service obligation levy on their electricity bills and they pay the current carbon tax. We cannot continue to place all the obligations on householders and small businesses. We need to shift the burden from households, businesses and farmers towards those who profit most from energy, the suppliers.

The future growth in the use of electric vehicles, particularly cars, and heat pumps in homes will lead to electricity consumption increasing dramatically. Allowing ordinary households and businesses produce their own energy means lower energy bills and higher rates of renewable power across the State. We need to switch from fossil fuels and we can do it by getting everybody involved, not just large-scale developers. Small-scale renewable energy has a part to play in the future energy solutions mix and we should not be resisting this practical solution to displacing some of our fossil fuels.

The Bill is straightforward in that it provides for microgeneration, whether from small-scale wind power, solar, combined heat and power using renewable sources, small-scale hydro and other technology that the Minister, under regulation, may deem suitable. We set out that minimum price tariffs need to apply and, again, the Minister will have the discretion to set those, along with the Minister having the power to set minimum contractual terms for a tariff. The Minister will also have other powers.

With regard to the 5% target, the idea is that if we do not set a target, we will not achieve anything. We are setting out that suppliers which have over a certain percentage of the market must supply 5% of their electricity from microgeneration by 2025. While we believe it is a realistic target, we are flexible about this. Some of the bodies represented here, particularly the Department, have raised this issue with us. We are flexible about it but we feel the need to set some kind of a target if we are going to get anywhere. We feel it is a practical step. While we are not saying that it is a silver bullet, we think it is part of the mix and is a contribution to moving the agenda forward and putting good legislation in place.