Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is a timely question, what with the European Council meeting today and tomorrow about targets, so I thank the Deputy for raising the issue.

The 2009 EU renewable energy directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020, to be achieved through 40% renewables in electricity, 12% in heat and 10% in transport. Policy interventions are designed to incentivise the market to deliver the necessary renewable generation capacity. The REFIT schemes are the primary means through which electricity from a range of renewable sources is supported in Ireland. These schemes are paid for by electricity customers through the public service obligation.

Although wind energy is expected to contribute most towards the achievement of the 2020 target, diversification of the renewable generation portfolio in the longer term will be important for creating a sustainable and carbon-free electricity system. Biomass will have a role to play and, depending on electricity demand, the full implementation of current policies could mean that up to 5% of electricity might be generated from biomass in 2020.

The choice of technology is, however, a commercial decision for individual project developers and the fuel used in the plant at Moneypoint is a matter for the operator. I have no role or function in that regard. Notwithstanding this, I am advised that a number of important issues would demand further consideration before biomass could be used at Moneypoint. These include the following: the conversion of Moneypoint to biomass would require significant levels of capital investment by the operator; support tariffs substantially higher than those available for wind, which has been the most cost-effective renewable technology in the Irish electricity market, would also be required, which would lead to increased electricity prices; substantially more biomass than is available domestically would be required, with large amounts of the resource having to be imported, leading to questions about sustainability and security of supply; and the commitment of substantial amounts of biomass to Moneypoint would divert scarce biomass away from the renewable heat sector where biomass can be used more efficiently and where fewer alternative technologies exist.

As I have stated, any decision on the choice of technology in Moneypoint is a matter for its operator, having regard to national and EU energy policy.

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