Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am interested in all of the issues that the Deputy raised and I genuinely thank him for doing so. The Green Paper on energy was published this year by my predecessor, Deputy Rabbitte, and we are moving towards having a White Paper in the middle of next year. I want the involvement of all Members across the House in this issue.

Deputy Boyd Barrett is right about the concerns, particularly in rural areas, regarding wind turbines. I understand, appreciate and respect those concerns. However, we must make decisions for the country's future. If we pull back from wind energy, we must replace it with something else. I am glad that the Deputy acknowledges this. It is easy to say that we should pull back from wind energy without offering an alternative but, in fairness to the Deputy, he proposed biomass. We have considered it. The argument is that the conversion of Moneypoint would cost in the region of €380 million, but that figure has not been independently verified. Regardless, it is a matter for the operator. The Moneypoint facility cannot burn biomass currently, so an investment would be required. One would also need to consider the question of state aid approval in respect of any new support for biomass. Were the targets for biomass similar to our targets for wind energy, there would be a significant additional cost. As such, there would be a knock-on cost for the consumer and the State. These are the issues with which we must wrestle.

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