Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)

There has been a great deal of debate about the excellent wind speeds along this country's western seaboard. We do not have hard information about the nature of the resource that is available to us. It is like drilling a few trial holes for oil without being able to assess or quantify the actual resource we have. Notwithstanding all the fine talk about our renewable wind energy resource, and the fact that we have the best wind speeds in Europe, the reality is the development of our wind energy potential is decades behind that of our European neighbours. If we are to stop guessing, it is important for us to have an objective measurement of this resource. When we are telling investors about this commodity, we should be able to calculate the productivity and returns they can expect at certain heights, such as 50 m, 100 m or 150 m. Such bankable information is needed to ensure investment in the wind industry is fast-tracked.

Bankers demand quality of production data, known as P90 data, when they are deciding whether to invest in wind industry products. We need to be able to take such information to the ECB and the UK Treasury. Such data allow the Government to be realistic about the actual commodity when it is assessing how wind can contribute to the targets of producing 40% of energy from renewable sources by 2020 and reducing our carbon emissions. The British Government recently said it would be interested in subsidising the Irish wind farm industry. When the State deals with such investors, it should know with what it is dealing, for what it should be looking and the terms it should be striking. Information on the optimum locations and heights for turbines should be available to county councillors and planning authorities when they are deciding how to achieve the best productivity with the smallest number of turbines. We do not need wind turbines in every location where the wind blows. Therefore, we need to be able to plan and prioritise where we should, or should not, build this country's transmission grid.

The wind is an indigenous natural resource like oil, gas and peat. The State needs to avoid relying on investors to ascertain the value of this commodity. This is one of the recurring themes that have blighted the progress of the Corrib gas field, for example. It has been suggested that the best deal for Irish citizens was not obtained when a natural resource was being developed in that instance. Above all, the Irish public is entitled to get full knowledge about the value of this commodity. The people of the west will be required to accommodate the infrastructural burden associated with the wind turbines and transmission lines that have to be constructed for the benefit of the entire country. They need to be shown what is the prize and the community benefits for people living in the west. If the Government's ambitions for the development of our wind energy capacity and the achievement of European targets are to be fulfilled, ordinary citizens must embrace and participate in the journey towards this realisation. Although the people of the west are keen to play their part in this country's economic recovery, they do not want simply to be told by experts what is best for them. People are intelligent enough to appreciate a good deal if that is what is on offer. If wind is the resource to be developed, people will get behind it. Dialogue and transparency are needed as part of that.

Has the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources properly measured this resource? If not, does it intend to do so? A resource assessment could be conducted using the resource data held by Met Éireann, Coillte and Bord na Móna. Separate assessments could be done if there are gaps in that information. I was a member of Mayo County Council when it was trying to develop a renewable energy strategy. When we sought resource data from semi-State and State agencies like Bord na Móna and Coillte, we found they were unwilling to share them with us even though their compilation had been paid for by Irish taxpayers. It is unacceptable that they refused to provide this data on the grounds that they were commercially sensitive. We are working in unison in this respect or we are not. Does the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources accept that this resource needs to be measured? I believe it does, as a critical starting point in our journey towards a true realisation of our wind energy resource potential. What steps will be taken in this regard? If the Minister does not believe we need to do this, perhaps he will explain why.

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