Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, is one of the major Government policies to help deliver on the ambition in the Climate Action Plan 2021 of up to 80% renewable electricity by 2030. I recently announced the provisional results of the second RESS auction, which is expected to deliver an increase of nearly 20% in Ireland's renewable energy generation. Bid prices were higher than the first auction, owing mainly to international inflationary pressures in input costs. The International Energy Agency estimates the overall investment costs of new solar and onshore wind plants are from 15% to 25% higher than earlier in the year and last year. Some input costs to solar panels have quadrupled.

It is important to look at the total lifetime costs of technologies, rather than just auction prices which can vary across countries depending on the scheme design. Renewable energy delivered under RESS 2 will pay back to consumers when wholesale electricity prices are high through the public service obligation levy and will not increase over time with inflation. This will provide significant protection for consumers for the duration of the scheme, especially in the context of the current and unprecedented volatility in gas prices.

Through the measures set out in the national energy security framework and the Climate Action Plan 2021, my Department is working across the Government to rapidly boost the supply of renewable energy generation. Renewable energy delivered under the RESS 2 auction will shield consumers from higher prices and reduce our dependency on imported fossil fuels in the context of the phasing out of Russian energy imports across the EU. As I have said, it the best way of keeping prices down, even while auction prices were higher than previously, as they are still significantly below the cost of the wholesale electricity market price or the gas alternatives. As we said earlier, they have gone through the roof.

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