Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Stanley for bringing forward the Wind Turbine

At the outset of this debate, it is necessary to set out the wider context of this issue. The development of renewable energy, including wind energy, is at the centre of this Government’s energy policy. The availability of indigenous, sustainable power is a valuable national asset which is vital for achieving energy security and reducing fossil fuel imports, as well as for achieving challenging EU emissions reduction and renewable energy targets. A hallmark of our energy policy approach to date has been to encourage green energy investment. Maintaining a favourable investment climate for the renewable energy sector and sustaining regulatory stability in Ireland has been critical in facilitating the build out of renewable energy infrastructure to this point.

Given Ireland’s heavy over-reliance on imported fossil fuels, the development of indigenous onshore wind, which in June 2017 accounted for more than 2,800 MW connected to the grid, is making a positive contribution to our energy security and avoiding approximately 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

The development of the wind sector in Ireland is subject to the planning code in the same manner as other forms of development. Local authority development plans are required to achieve a balance in harnessing the wind energy resources of the planning authority’s area in a manner that is consistent with national policy objectives and proper planning and sustainable development. In this connection, planning authorities are required to have regard to my Department’s Wind Energy Development Guidelines 2006 which contain advice to assist planning authorities in drawing up their local development plans and making determinations on wind farm planning applications. In effect, this guidance is aimed at ensuring a consistency of approach throughout the country in the identification in local development plans of suitable locations for wind energy development as well as in the treatment of planning applications for such developments while also having regard to relevant national Government policy, including energy policy.

As the Deputy will be aware, a targeted review of the 2006 guidelines has been under way since 2013. As set out in A Programme for Partnership Government, the Government is committed to concluding the review of the guidelines as speedily as possible with a view to offering a better balance between the concerns of local communities and the need to invest in indigenous energy projects, informed by the public consultation process and best international practice.

Since reaching agreement on A Programme for a Partnership Government in May 2016, there has been close engagement on the review of the guidelines at both ministerial and official level between my Department and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, given its responsibility for renewable energy policy. On foot of this engagement, in June this year the then Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment announced a key milestone in the review of the guidelines by announcing details of a proposed preferred draft approach to key aspects of the review which will now be subject to a strategic environmental assessment before the guidelines are finalised and adopted. I confirm that assessment has to go to tender and the publication in respect to applications for that tender will take place tomorrow. There will be a period of a month within which people can offer to apply to do that strategic environmental assessment project. That is the update on that aspect that the Deputy sought.

This preferred draft approach was outlined to provide an update to the public, industry stakeholders and planning authorities on progress being made on the review. It sets out proposals to deal with aspects of the guidelines relating to noise, setback distance and shadow flicker, community engagement and benefit, and also policy on grid connections from wind farms to the electricity transmission and distribution system.

On the specifics of the Deputy’s Bill which is the subject of this debate, I would like to outline how the Government is addressing some of its key provisions. Regarding section 2, which provides limits on the export of power generated from wind turbines, the Government’s current policy on the export of electricity is set out in the 2012 renewable energy strategy which, in accordance with European law, supports the export of renewable energy to other EU member states. However, it is a precondition that any such export would bring clear and significant benefit to the Irish economy at no net cost to the Irish consumer. This policy is currently being reviewed in the context of the draft renewable electricity policy and development framework being developed by my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Naughten, and his Department, which will update policy on potential future energy exports. The setting out of national policy on this matter, in Government strategies or policy frameworks, is a more appropriate approach than providing for it in primary legislation as proposed in the Deputy's Bill. In addition, the provisions in section 2 could result in significant operational and market design implications for EirGrid, in the management of energy flows on the east-west interconnector and potentially for future interconnectors.

Section 3 relates to the location of turbines, providing that all locations for proposed wind turbines must be designated in county development plans, be consistent with the development plan and be designated with the approval of the elected members. This is already largely the case but the key point that is missing here is that local development plans must also have regard to national policy, including energy policy, as well as section 28 guidance issued by the Minister to local authorities on the drawing up of development plans. Section 3 is particularly problematic in that it proposes that local authorities could effectively act independently and set their own local wind energy development policy in their development plans without having regard to national policy or guidance. This would be a retrograde step which would militate against the achievement of national policy objectives and, accordingly, the Government strongly opposes this section.

I want to address sections 4, 5 and 6 in regard to public consultation, noise limits, shadow flicker and wind farm setback distances. In this context, it should be noted that the recently announced preferred draft approach addresses these issues by proposing the following: the application of a more stringent noise limit, consistent with World Health Organization standards, in tandem with a new robust noise monitoring and enforcement regime to ensure compliance with noise standards; a visual amenity setback of four times the turbine height between a wind turbine and the nearest residential property, subject to a mandatory minimum distance of 500 m; the elimination of shadow flicker through requirements to operate automated wind turbine control mechanisms as a condition of the grant of planning permission; and the introduction of new obligations in regard to engagement with local communities by wind farm developers along with the provision of community benefit measures. In this connection, a wide range of community, spatial planning, energy policy, environmental, technological and industry considerations need to be appropriately balanced. The proposed preferred draft approach is aimed at achieving this broad balance which would not be possible under the provisions of the Deputy's Bill.

In addition to the concerns I expressed in regard to section 3, we must also oppose the setback distance provisions in section 6 which proposes that turbines with a height of greater than 25 m shall be located not less than a distance of ten times the height of the turbine away from any dwelling. This provision would significantly reduce the amount of land available throughout the country for wind farm development, thereby stymying the industry and minimising the possibilities for achieving our renewable energy targets while simultaneously exposing the State to substantial EU fines.

Another aspect of the Bill to which I would like to refer to briefly is the section 11 provisions on co-ownership of wind farms for local communities. In this regard, the Government recognises that community consultation and community dividend are important components of future wind farm development, with both community ownership and part-ownership of wind energy projects by local communities being encouraged. Under the preferred draft approach, it is proposed to oblige developers of wind farm projects to engage in active consultation and dialogue with the local community at an early stage in the process prior to submitting a planning application. It is further proposed that planning applications shall contain a community report prepared by the applicant outlining how the final proposal has been modified to take account of the community consultations undertaken.

In addition, the new renewable electricity support scheme, for which a consultation was launched on 4 September 2017, has community participation and ownership designed into its fabric. The consultation sets out a number of policy options to support both community-led projects and developer-led projects with material community involvement and benefit. In particular, the consultation is examining how to facilitate the development of community-led renewable electricity projects by providing initial funding, technical and legal advice to communities seeking to develop renewable projects. The Deputy asked me whether we would be supporting communities. That is the intention in that respect and that is set out in that consultation document. Furthermore, multiple support mechanisms, including financial supports, infrastructural supports, including facilitating access to the grid for community-led projects and technical support for communities as their projects progress through to commissioning, are also being assessed.

Larger-scale developer-led renewable electricity projects will have to meet certain criteria in terms of offering investment opportunities to local communities. The ownership policy option is not limited to offering an equity stake, however, and the proposals put forward are aimed at maximising citizen and community participation. The consultation also proposes a formalised community benefit payments register which will provide financial benefits to the entire community, including those unable to participate in the ownership proposals. As each project and each community will be different, I do not believe it is appropriate to provide for co-ownership of wind farms by local communities in the quite prescriptive manner as proposed in section 11 of the Deputy's Bill and that, instead, this issue can be better addressed in the manner proposed in the preferred draft approach and in the draft renewable electricity support scheme.

I will respond to some of the Deputy's comments and I will come back in towards the end of the debate with other comments. He mentioned offshore wind development. The State is investing a great deal of money in research projects involving many stakeholders relating to the offshore possibilities of wind and other renewable energies. Many good projects are emerging in conjunction with the research community. Hopefully, there will be potential to develop offshore wind energy and we will achieve success. As an island nation, we could lead on some of these projects and that is what we are trying to do. We recognise it is more difficult in some of our waters compared to other parts of Europe to develop wind energy and that adds to the cost. We are making significant investment in technical solutions as well and we will be successful. In my previous role as Minister of State with responsibility for research and development, I witnessed first hand some of the work that is going in on and I am confident there will be great progress in this regard in the near future.

The Deputy also mentioned other renewable energy proposals, which we very much encourage. He referred to pig slurry and anaerobic digesters. That is a conversation for local councillors and local communities who are not always supportive of these plans. I agree with him that there is great potential in this regard. Projects have been knocked for planning reasons and there have been other objections. Sometimes their scale is too vast. Along with others, I visited projects abroad and if they are done on the right scale, they can be favourable to communities. That is something we can probably work on together and I would be happy to do that along with other Departments.

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