Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The overarching objective of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. The 2009 EU renewable energy directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. In order to do that, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewables, 12% renewables in the heating sector and 10% in transport. While we have made good progress with regard to renewable energy deployment, significant challenges remain, particularly in the heat and transport sectors. Provisional figures provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, for 2014 show that 8.6% of Ireland's overall energy requirement was met by renewable energy. In addition, the SEAI has calculated that, in 2014, some 22.7% of electricity, 6.6% of heat and 5.2% of transport were met from renewable sources. Less than 0.1% of electricity is generated from solar photovoltaic, PV, installations.

In setting an overall target for electricity from renewable sources, the Government has not set specific targets for given renewable technologies. To date, wind energy, as the most cost-effective technology available to Ireland, has been the largest driver of growth in renewable electricity generation. The Government recognises, however, that wind must be complemented by other policies to meet our renewable energy ambitions. In addition to our onshore wind resource, bioenergy, solar and other technologies may play a critical role in diversifying our renewable generation portfolio over the period to 2030.

To support the use of renewable electricity and heat further, my Department launched two consultations on 31 July on proposed support schemes, one for renewable electricity and one for a renewable heat incentive. While the initial phase of both consultations closed on 18 September, there will be two further opportunities to contribute at key stages in the design of any new scheme. Subject to Government approval and state aid clearance from the European Commission, the new schemes will be available in 2016.

In the context of the forthcoming energy White Paper, my Department is considering the optimal fuel mix, including the role of renewable energy, for Ireland.

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