Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 22 February 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action
Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals
Mr. Noel Regan:
The benefit of the European market for renewable sources is that countries with good resources, such as Ireland when offshore wind is developed, can export them. Other European countries can take advantage of the countries with better resources for renewable energy. For example, solar energy is better in southern Europe. Maybe this is not a matter for me to comment on, but those countries are more exposed to natural gas supply issues than Ireland, because Ireland is connected to the UK, which has a diverse source of gases, whereas countries in eastern Europe are more exposed. The appetite for action will be strong among member states.