Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Analysis undertaken by the Department, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, EirGrid and the Commission for Energy Regulation has assessed the costs and value of choosing the path towards 40% renewable electricity generation in 2020, compared to a scenario where renewable electricity remained at 2013 levels. This analysis has informed a report which will be published shortly.

It is important to note that our transition to renewables has been underpinned by a number of previous studies. The all-island grid study, published in 2008, assessed the technical feasibility and the relative costs and benefits associated with various scenarios for increased shares of electricity sourced from renewable energy in the all-island power system. The scenarios were informed by the resource available, technological readiness of the various generation technologies and cost required per generated unit. The mapping for the analysis also assessed the deployment potential, based on where the resource was and an overview of environmentally designated areas. The 2008 study informed the position for a contribution of 40% renewable electricity in Ireland by 2020. It concluded that, based on assumptions set out in the report, wind energy represented a cost effective source for electricity generation.

The abundant wind resource in Ireland means that each unit of installed wind generation capacity generates more units of electricity when compared with other countries and hence needs a lower rate per generated unit of electricity in order to recover the overall costs of the project. The existing feed-in tariff, REFIT, which is funded from the PSO levy on consumer bills, is a cost effective tool to support this development, as indicated by a report published by the Council of European Energy Regulators earlier this year. This position has been underpinned by various reports and analyses which have examined the effect of renewables on electricity prices. The ESRI, the Irish Wind Energy Association, the SEAI and EirGrid have undertaken such studies and published the results of same. Furthermore, wind generation in Ireland in 2012 is estimated by the SEAI to have displaced fossil fuels, almost all of which would have been imported, to an estimated value of €177 million, with the value of avoided CO2 emissions being a further €11 million.

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