Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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I have some questions. A common theme in the presentation was the jobs that could be created by this. The witnesses from Supernode mentioned it. There was talk about jobs in onshore wind generation for years and they did not materialise, so people are a bit cynical about that. I would like to know what type of jobs the witnesses are talking about. Are they manufacturing jobs?

Where do the majority of solar panels come from? Would they come from China or do the witnesses propose that we might manufacture them here? Where is the optimal place to get solar panels?

I welcome the developments around biomethane which the witnesses are involved in. At what point would what the witnesses are suggesting be a commercially viable endeavour for a farm to engage in? What herd size or acreage would be needed? What is the necessary combination of silage and waste material? What are the logistical challenges for the necessary infrastructure, including pipelines, planning, community acceptance, odours, etc? Mr. Maguire has been quite exasperated by planning processes in general, whether in connection with the ESB or the planning system. I have to say I agree with him. Could the witnesses comment on the difference between offshore wind generation in the Atlantic and in the Irish Sea where commercial viability and price are concerned? How does that compare with onshore wind in terms of cost?

It seems pretty obvious to me that we should be putting solar panels on every roof. Was there ever an audit of how much roof space is available? Clearly there are lots of challenges involved in building solar farms on greenfield sites. This mainly concerns microgeneration. Do the witnesses have any idea of the capacity of rooftop space?