Mr. Nicholas Tarrant:

I will go through our opening statement and introduce Mr. John Emerson and Mr. Alan Rossiter as I do so.

ESB Networks has a critical role in the delivery of Ireland’s renewable energy targets and we welcome the opportunity to speak with the committee this evening. I am joined by Mr. Alan Rossiter and Mr. John Emerson, both of whom are involved in that. Mr. Rossiter is responsible for three of our six regions in the southern half of the country and Mr. Emerson is involved in centrally co-ordinating the process around mini-generation, or minigen, and small-scale generation, which we will touch on as we go through the opening statement. I will briefly explain the role of ESB Networks in the electricity sector and then cover some summary points relevant to the topic of renewable energy.

ESB Networks plans, builds, maintains and operates the electricity distribution network. We also build and maintain the onshore electricity transmission network, the planning and operation of which is the responsibility of EirGrid. Since 1999, these licensed activities have been overseen by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU. ESB Networks is a ring-fenced part of ESB Group and there is strict regulatory separation between ESB Networks and the areas of ESB Group responsible for generating and selling electricity. ESB Networks does not have a policy role in the use of agricultural land for renewable energy, nor do we develop solar or wind projects. Our role is in the connection of renewable energy projects to the electricity network and also the wider construction and maintenance of the network. We access land every day in the carrying out of our role and our positive relationship with landowners is something we highly value.

ESB Networks has served all Irish customers for almost a century. We work every day to deliver electricity safely and reliably to all customers, irrespective of who they buy their electricity from. We provide a 24-7 emergency response and, during outages in severe weather, our crews work to restore electricity to affected areas as soon as is safely possible. We have approximately 2.5 million customers. There is more than 180,000 km of electricity infrastructure across Ireland. We have approximately 3,800 employees and an extensive supply chain of specialist contractors to help deliver approximately €1 billion of capital investment across all of our work programmes each year.

Moving to the area of climate action, the electricity distribution system is evolving to become a low-carbon electricity network where 80% of the electricity demand in Ireland will come from renewable sources by 2030. ESB Networks is committed to achieving the climate action plan targets and we launched our networks for net zero strategy in early 2023 which aligns with these targets. As we look out to 2030 and beyond that to net zero, major investment in electricity infrastructure will be a critical enabler for these targets to be achieved.

On the area of connecting renewables to the electricity network, Ireland and ESB Networks have a strong track record in connecting renewables. Approximately 6,400 MW of renewable generation has been connected to the electricity system to date and, in the 12 months to the end of September 2023, 42% of electricity consumption came from renewable sources. This 6,400 MW is comprised 200 MW of hydro, 4,900 MW of wind generation, 1,100 MW of solar, plus a further 200 MW of sources such as biogas, waste-to-energy and so on. The climate action plan target is to reach 17,000 MW of onshore renewable generation by 2030, which is 9,000 MW of onshore wind and 8,000 MW of solar. There will be a significant programme of work in this area for the years ahead.

The combination of the Government’s RESS auctions and the regulated connections process is delivering a strong pipeline of new projects each year. Some 412 MW of grid-scale projects was connected in 2023, comprising 191 MW of wind and 221 MW of solar.

ESB Networks processes approximately 70 grid-scale connection applications each year. These include commercial solar and wind projects, community projects and auto-producers. We expect an approximate 650 MW of grid-scale projects to be connected in 2024.

Microgeneration, which is less than 6 kVA single phase or 11 kVA three phase and relates to domestic rooftops, grew by 90% in 2023 compared with 2022. We now have over 94,000 projects registered and this figure is growing by approximately 750 per week.

Mini-generation and small-scale generation refer to generator installations that are larger than domestic rooftop microgeneration. These include installations on farms and businesses. In 2023, ESB Networks received 1,200 applications for minigen, which are projects up to 50 kVA, which was up 85% on 2022. To date, the overall total number of minigen applications stands at 2,437. Some 190 applications for small-scale generation, which is up to 200 kVA, were received in 2023, which was up 200% on 2022. The total number of small-scale generation applications stands at 348 and we have summarised the overall table of the applications in appendix 1.

In total, all renewable generation less than 200 kVA in size contributes more than 400 MW to the electricity system, which has grown to be a very substantial contribution in a short period. The growth in microgeneration, minigen and small scale is expected to accelerate over the years ahead.

In summary, the electricity system is fundamental to enabling the decarbonisation of Irish society, to ensure Ireland meets its ambitious targets for 2030 and to reach net zero no later than 2050. We are enabling the connection of renewable generation across Ireland and ESB Networks is committed to delivering our role in this energy transformation, serving the needs of Irish society and the economy now and in the future. Continued investment in the electricity network is critical for delivery of climate action plan targets, Housing for All and a growing economy. My colleagues and I will be happy to take any questions from the committee.