Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy raised a very complex, technical question that I have struggled with for quite some time in an effort to understand the matter. It essentially concerns the capacity of the system to accommodate renewables generally, and wind energy in particular. The transmission system operator, EirGrid, is very highly regarded not only in Ireland, but also internationally in terms of its technical competence in dealing with this issue. The Deputy is correct that when the wind does not blow or blow adequately, backup is needed. This is when additional costs are incurred.

Only last week, the paper produced by the European Union estimated that the marginal cost in Ireland is 1%, as I stated in my formal reply. In some other countries, it is as high as 13.5%. If my memory serves me correctly – one should not hold me to this without checking – there was a day last year on which 50% of our domestic need was met by wind energy. This is very high by comparison with the figures for any other European country. A process called the DS3 process is in train to examine future capacity in this area.

If the wind export project to Britain gets under way, the cable from the midlands to the point where it goes under the sea will be underground because the technology will be distinct, separate and different.

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