Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
Offshore Renewable Industry Forum and Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industry: Discussion
Mr. Noel Cunniffe:
It is a possibility. They have huge ambitions for developing offshore wind energy in Great Britain. They have a target of 50 GW, compared to our 5 GW. We believe that our 5 GW target will supply 30% to 40% of our electricity demand by 2030. When you couple that with the onshore wind energy sector, which is continuing to grow in Ireland, and with solar energy, we should be able to hit the target of having 80% of our own electricity from renewables by 2030. Our goal as a country should be to try to achieve net zero-carbon electricity by 2035. We have the resources there. That is not up for debate. What is up for debate is how cheaply we can deliver that, how efficiently and how much of that investment we can keep within Ireland.