Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is a discussion on these matters in the White Paper, which is due for publication tomorrow. It contains a discussion of the contribution that can be made by the different renewable sources. We have hydropower here but we do not have huge potential for its development in terms of large-scale projects. Onshore wind energy has proven to be very cost-effectvie but it is the not, and cannot be, the full story. Solar energy will have a big part to play, it is becoming cheaper all the time, and there are some very interesting and exciting developments in the area of storage which will make it easier progressively for us to expand our renewable energy portfolio. Biomass will certainly have a role to play, more likely in the heat sector than in the electricity generating sector. Offshore wind will have a role to play in the future; it is more expensive and is very much at the early stages of development. Many of these technologies need to mature and when they do I think they will come on board. Wave and tidal energies are also at early research phases. We will have a good discussion on this in the White Paper. We need to have a plan and we have a plan. We also need to decarbonise our economy and renewable energy is a huge part of that.

See this speech in context