Mr. Dudley Stewart:

Many of the points raised by Deputies Stanley and Wallace are taken up in the paper in respect of grid connections. If we regard microgeneration as being of a tiny scale for individuals, we are looking at the most costly technology. It is costly because if one does not have the services to serve the area, there will be high costs. Everywhere in the world has pushed to increase technology deployment so the service cost will go down. Thus, the overall technology cost decreases.

This brings us to the European definition of microgeneration, which is community generation for own use. That is not tiny generation, however. It involves biogas digesters, micro-hydro and small-scale hydro. It involves a wide range of energy sources we have in Ireland that cannot be exploited because they are not really recognised as being associated with microgeneration. The methods are regarded as purely commercial generation and, therefore, they have to take a line in the queue like wind power projects designed by developers. One could wait five years or even more for interactive studies before getting a grid connection. If microgeneration is in accordance with the European definition, it could yield as much as 25% to 30% of what Ireland needs. Therefore, I agree with Deputy Wallace that the potential is very much underestimated.

There is also potential for unifying communities, community resilience and bringing people together. It is part of addressing the problem of how to balance power and deal with the "wandering electrons", as they say, using the foremost developments in digital technology. That is exactly what we are trying to do here. If Ireland, as a country, wants to solve this problem, we need to work together seriously, not play together. We are not seeing that now. Our group involves multiple parties. We represent active citizens, communities, academia and local authorities working hard in this area but we are not seeing the enthusiasm from the utilities that is needed for us to really harness our fabulous resource. We are not talking about 5% but about 30%. We are talking about more of our citizens and businesses being involved and a wider diversity of sources.