Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. Stephen Douglas:

On what we call hybrid sites, grid is scarce and we must maximise the use of the existing infrastructure. It was an action in the previous climate action plan. It has been removed in the interim. The industry will be looking for that action to be reinstated to progress hybrid sites. There has been some progress in the regulatory space on some of the issues hybrid sites create for the existing policy. There are two legal entities using the same metered export capacity. The way we set up the system is for one legal entity, so there are issues there. There are issues with how those projects bid into RESS auctions. There are many issues that have to be resolved for us to be able to take advantage of this, and having it reinstated in the climate action plan would be welcome as well. In terms of offshore development, there are many projects on the east coast seeking to connect to the grid. Being able to use existing connections, for example, where there is a gas plant for a generator or for a portfolio player to be able to use that existing grid and maximise that use, is something the industry wants.

Would you mind repeating the specific question about the RESS results, Chairman?