Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Under the renewable energy directive, 2009/28/EC, Ireland was set a binding national target by the European Union of 16% of all energy consumed to be from renewable sources by 2020. National targets of 40% electricity, 12% heating and cooling and 10% transport are commensurate with reaching our overall directive target. Currently, there is approximately 1,800 MW of renewable generation operational, of which just over 1,500 MW is from wind power, in addition to 240 MW from hydro-generation and 30 MW from biomass renewable generation. Operators of a further 1,000 MW of new renewable generation from the Gate 1 and Gate 2 group processing series have signed grid connection offers and are awaiting grid connection, mainly in the next year or two.

As part of the Gate 3 process, an additional 3,900 MW of offers issued to renewable generators. Even allowing for challenges that some developers face owing to increased planning restrictions in and around special areas of conservation, this amount of renewable generation is well in line with achieving Ireland's target.

Ocean technologies are still very much at the research and development phase and there are no wave energy devices operating on a commercial scale anywhere in the world. A number of Irish universities and the Marine Institute are pursuing research and other initiatives in the ocean energy sector and a quarter scale test site for devices has been established in Galway Bay. The intention is to eventually be able to test full scale grid connected pre-commercial wave energy prototypes. In order to achieve this goal, an ocean energy development unit in the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has been pursuing a strategy of developing a site where this testing could take place.

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EirGrid's GRID25 strategy sets out the high level plan for delivering an upgraded electricity transmission network to 2025. EirGrid is working to enhance the national network capacity between now and 2025 by reinforcing existing lines, deploying new grid technology and building new transmission lines.

The programme for Government states a future Gate 4, if required, will be plan-led, that is, future wind farms are to be built at locations where the wind regime is best and built in numbers or clusters to reduce the cost of connection to the grid. In the event that a Gate 4 process is contemplated in due course, my Department will engage with the Commission for Energy Regulation, EirGrid, ESB Networks and the industry on its design in the light, inter alia, of the programme for Government.

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