Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party)
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About 20 years ago, I graduated from a master’s programme where we studied solar PV. The hypothetical solar farm in Longford-Westmeath, which was to be on a 50-acre farm was pie in the sky at that point. Yet, here we are 20 years later, where I hope that solar is going to be a significant part of the energy mix as we go forward through to 2030 and beyond.

This is positive. The hearings of this committee are very positive, in particular this session with respect to energy, as well as in general. This committee is forward looking in trying to find paths forward for agriculture. In generating electricity, there is a clear path forward. I welcome this session. I welcome our guests today to educate and inform us on what the opportunities might be.

Mr. Bolger has made a clear point about the importance of the grid. He says that grid connections are his primary concern, and planning is his second concern. The wind industry might invert those priorities. I would encourage all members of this committee, and indeed all members of the Oireachtas, to embrace the importance of grid development, because it is a huge challenge across the country. I would like Mr. Bolger to comment on that. We are not going to get to the 70% target, let alone to 80% target or beyond, unless we develop our grid. We will need leadership from all of the parties in the Oireachtas. This is not easy. It is very hard actually. We need our State players to do what needs to be done. We also need our politicians to the right thing and to show leadership. I am talking about big projects, such as the North-South interconnector. We will not get to the 80% target unless we get the North-South interconnector up and running as soon as possible.

I am interested in Mr. Bolger’s points on the direct lines, as well as about how we can through legislation enable the development of direct lines and the development of solar farms so that we can connect them directly with industry. He briefly touched on the challenges posed by data centres. It seems to me that with solar energy, if you build out the farms that Mr. Bolger says that are in the pipeline and that can be built, we will get more solar energy in the summertime. The data centre industry would say that that is when their greatest electrical demand is. It therefore looks as though there is a correlation there that can be explored. I do not know if the Irish Solar Energy Association has entered into any talks with the data centre industry, because this is a topical issue. This is in an area that we are very challenged by. While we need data centres and we use them in all of our lives, they are a challenge to our system. We have to decarbonise our system and they are very energy hungry. Mr. Bolger might speak more about that if he could.

He says that we can build up to 6 GW of installed capacity. However, 6 GW of solar and 6 GW of wind may not equate to the same amount of energy, because of the characteristics of the renewable resource. What is the percentage of our energy mix that 6 GW could equate to? That is an important number to have. We are currently at 36% wind. We want to get up to a figure of a high 60% or to 70% by 2030. What can solar do for us there?

I have a practical question around the solar farms. The land can be used for grazing and for other forms of light agriculture as well. How permanent is the infrastructure on the land? Can it in the future be returned to food production and to agricultural use? This is an important question and I think listeners will be interested in it.

We spoke about, and Mr. Bolger mentioned, the issue of capital acquisitions tax. Has he anything more to say on that and how the 50% threshold is impacting the industry? If Mr. Bolger thinks there is more to say on that, I would certainly like to hear it. Am I correct in saying it is very much an issue for the Minister for Finance? If this committee believes that, we should notify him of it. I am sure members will agree it is something we should explore.