Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Under Directive 2001/77/EC, Ireland was assigned a renewable electricity target of 13.2% by 2010. Following extensive public consultation and consideration, it was decided that to reach the 2010 targets, a new scheme was necessary to deliver the build rate required to meet the renewable electricity directive target level. Experience across Europe clearly showed that feed-in tariffs were proving the most successful of the options available to member states in terms of encouraging new build. It was for this reason that the renewable energy feed-in tariff, known as REFIT, was announced in 2006 for certain categories of renewable energy, including wind and hydro power. It received state aid clearance in 2007, and the REFIT scheme has achieved its goal in that, at the end of 2010, Ireland had succeeded in surpassing the 2010 target.

The planned extension of the first REFIT scheme is designed to support up to 4,000 MW of onshore wind, landfill gas and hydro technologies. The new REFIT scheme for biomass technologies is designed to support a range of technologies, including combined heat and power, CHP, and anaerobic digestion, as well as co-firing of biomass in the peat power plants. Separate state aid applications are being progressed with the European Commission in regard to these schemes. The Commission is finalising its assessments on both applications.

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