Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the energy debate. Deputy O'Donovan painted a picture in this regard. This is one of most exciting areas in which to be involved and I wish the Minister of State well in his brief.

We spend billions of euro per annum on fossil fuels. Economies and technologies have developed since the discovery of oil and everything is based on the use of fossil fuels, whether it be our heating systems, transport, electricity generation and the generation of other forms of energy. We are having difficulties in making adaptations such as introducing battery powered cars because there was no focus on this issue in the past. If people had been more broadminded and had not put all their eggs in one basket, it is possible, for example, that many wars would have been avoided. Some of the wars taking place today would not have commenced and there would not be trouble and suffering in many countries because of the rush to secure oil resources. That is the challenge we face.

Our indigenous renewable energy resources are a good news story. I come from a county that has such resources in abundance, but there are serious problems with the development of their potential. In particular, County Mayo has the highest wind speeds in Europe and planning permission was granted seven years ago for the largest wind farm in the State, a 350 MW wind farm at Bellacorick. However, if it was to be built in the morning, the national grid would not have the capacity to harness the power generated by the farm. The county council recently drafted and validated a renewable energy strategy which recognised the potential of the wind farm. It also identified that the county had the capacity to generate 20,000 MW through the use of wind turbines, while avoiding any impact on SACs, housing and so on. No one has suggested numerous wind farms should be built, given that no 400 kV line passes through the county.

I have serious issues with the progress made by EirGrid in providing grid capacity in County Mayo. Wind farms are being built elsewhere in the State, for example, in County Offaly where wind speeds are lower, because grid capacity is available. County Mayo has the resources but infrastructure is not being provided. There are not even plans for an expansion of the grid. Investment capital and companies with expertise in this area were available and such companies were dying to invest, in my county in particular, but they have invested in Scotland or elsewhere where grid capacity and high wind speeds are available and the powers that be have the wherewithal through licensing and so on to make it more business friendly to generate power.

Likewise, there are five ocean energy sites throughout the world, including the Cape of Good Hope. A test site has been identified off the Mayo coast, but there is no connection for devices at development stage. There is a great deal of interest in developing prototypes and transforming them into commercially viable wave energy machines that could be part of our energy solutions. There is a test site but no cable; therefore, the prototypes are not being developed. However, again, this is happening in Scotland.

The Minister of State will be aware that there is massive frustration. Every other week I am approached by a lobby group or an individual in my office to find out what is happening because a connection to the national grid cannot be secured. In the existing gate system, there are those with offers to the grid who have secured planning permission but if the wind farm is built in Bellacorick, there will be no capacity on the grid for them, so even though they invested money in developing community wind farms, they lose out.

We need a Gate 4 to take cognisance of the ambition in the programme for Government to develop wind in a clustered fashion. We have identified the hot spots for wind so we should fast-track the delivery of grid to those areas and avoid getting caught up in the current gate system, where there can be a person at one end of the county with a grid offer but no planning permission and a person at the other end with planning permission but no grid offer. The person with the grid offer might not intend to build a wind farm and now has a commodity he wants to sell to the person who wants to develop a wind farm. This is an absolute mess.

From replies to parliamentary questions I have tabled, I know there is some recognition that there is a problem but we need to see movement. Money is an issue in the country but these are solutions. If we invest now, we will achieve energy security while reducing carbon emissions. We should think big about this, not just hitting European targets but becoming a major exporter. If we invest now, it will be to everyone's benefit, with sustainable jobs and energy.

I would like to see this area being given a new lease of life. The Minister of State is very interested in this and is accommodating ideas and concerns. This would be a good news story when so many things are outside our control, because this is our own resource. Those of us who live in the west tend to look east but we have this resource and if we get assistance to develop it, it will benefit the entire country. It will allow us to play our part in the economic recovery of the country and develop our green economy.

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