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

We have to show and prove it is being done in exceptional circumstances.

In further response to Deputy Harkin, right through this process, we have been in communication with the European Commission. We meet in the Energy Council every second week at the moment because of the energy crisis. I first mentioned to the Commissioner earlier this year that we were aware we would have to take these sorts of measures to deliver the power the auction system did not deliver. At every stage in the process, we kept the Commission informed. The officials will meet tomorrow to discuss this. As the Bill sets out in section 7(3), if the legislation is approved by the House and if we apply for the various measures, that is, if we are making a decision under subsections 7(1)(a) or 7(1)(c), then "the Minister shall give notice to the European Commission stating that the designated development is exempt from the provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive". This is being done under European law.

We need to be clear on the legal context for this. Our system is maintaining the market regulatory systems on which the EU insists. To my mind, it is correct in so insisting. There is a lot of discussion at the moment within the Council and elsewhere as to whether we should give up on all our market regulatory systems and move towards something different. I do not believe we should. The process we are following is set out in that European legal context. It is the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, that has issued the direction to say we need this power. In response to that, with the assistance of State financing and revenue that will come from the tariff of some €40 per household, EirGrid will contract for the generators with the power generation companies. EirGrid itself is a transmission grid company, not a generator. It cannot go into the generation business. It has discussed and negotiated with all power supply companies here and all potential generators. We are open to all sites, to answer a question put by one of the speakers, and we have come up with two sites, Shannonbridge and Tarbert, which, for technical and other specific reasons, EirGrid sees as the optimal locations for this generation to be developed. At all stages, we have done this in compliance with European law and in full view of the Commission and the other regulatory authorities, as required.

To answer one of Deputy Berry's question, it is distillate, as I understand, that is used on these two sites. The machines can also run on gas. In the future, and I believe they will have a future value after the period of this exceptional measure, the approach of the CRU, EirGrid and the Government is that the generators will be sold back into the market.

I believe "made whole" is the legal term. That will include the potential refunding to the Irish public of some of the money spent on the original purchase. I believe there will be a significant contribution there. All the expert analysis of how we move to a high renewable zero-carbon energy system shows that backup is needed. As Deputy Mattie McGrath said very astutely, sometimes the wind does not blow. In those instances we need backup power supply. As I understand it, the generators also have the capability to be switched to hydrogen fuel supplies, so they are future-proofed. They will not be stranded afterwards, in my mind.

Deputy Berry asked if what we are doing here is enough. The answer is "No". In this emergency process we are trying to close the gap that emerged because of a failed auction back in 2019, which only became apparent after a year and a half or so. In my mind, we will need at least another 1.5 GW of backup gas-fired generation, as well as the additional solar battery storage, offshore and onshore wind, interconnection and other balancing supply, including pump storage and a whole range of other investments. We need a whole variety of investments to be delivered. We will also need additional gas generators. They will come through the T-4 and T-3 auction systems, which are currently progressing. We will have to continually review what those needs are. Indeed, that is what the EirGrid capacity statement does. We will have to respond because we are in a tight situation. We have a lot of older plants that we need to shut down. We have to shut down older fossil fuel plants, such as Tarbert and Moneypoint, which are at the end of their lives. Therefore, we need a significant amount of new generation capacity. That will come through the standardised auction system, and not this emergency procurement process.

I am sure I have not answered many of the questions, but we will be able to come back and discuss the legislation in what I accept is a truncated timeframe. We need this legislation in place. As I said, the contracts will be signed within days. That gives the board and the Minister the capability of actually delivering these measures next autumn. We need them next autumn. It is absolutely appropriate for the Government to act, which is what we did when we realised that there was a shortfall. We have done that in procuring the 250 MW, engaging in this emergency purchase and making sure we can deliver it in time, which this legislation allows us to do.

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