Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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6. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans for meeting our renewable energy targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40410/14]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The thread of these questions continues so I might take up where I left off. A major concern is that private wind energy companies is not the best way to invest our money in terms of developing renewable energy. In an article in The Irish Times, which the Minister probably read, Dr. Anthony White, who is the co-founder of BW Energy and is a low carbon and power market specialist, stated:

If wind power is so cheap, why does it need special treatment, in the form of guaranteed feed-in tariffs, and why are Ireland's household power prices today 20 per cent higher than the European average?

If it is so "green", why have Ireland's CO₂emissions per kWh from power generation actually increased since 2009.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The 2009 renewable energy directive set Ireland a target of meeting 16% of total energy demand from renewable sources by 2020. I will skip over the figures I gave earlier to the House.

There is currently over 2,400 MW of renewable generation connected to the Irish grid. It is estimated that a total installed capacity of between 3,500 and 4,000 MW will be required in 2020. This is renewable generation from whatever source. Around 3,300 MW of additional renewable generation, predominantly from wind generation, has accepted grid connection offers. However, achievement of the renewable electricity target will be challenging. In order to achieve 40% target by 2020, an increase in the rate of build of both renewable generation infrastructure and the electricity transmission network will be required. Comprehensive engagement with local communities on the benefits for citizens of realising the potential of our indigenous renewable electricity resources will be essential to the roll-out of the infrastructure required.

Progress towards the renewable heat target is also proving challenging. Estimates by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland show that current policies will not deliver fully on our target of 12% renewable energy in the heat sector by 2020. In this regard, the analysis underpinning the draft bioenergy plan I mentioned earlier, which was published this month, sets out how an additional bioenergy focused measure in the heat sector would be a cost effective means of meeting Ireland's renewable energy heat target. The draft plan recommends, subject to State aid clearance and further Government approval, that a renewable heat incentive would be introduced in 2016 that would incentivise larger heat users to convert to renewable heating solutions.

The deployment of sustainable biofuels, as the Deputy is advocating, through the biofuels obligation scheme, will be the primary mechanism through which progression to the target for renewable transport will be achieved as well. Increased deployment of electric vehicles will also contribute towards the target of 10% of the energy in transport from renewables.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I have made the point. Serious questions need to be answered, and Dr. Anthony White raised some serious questions about whether the significant investment of €3.8 billion we are putting in in a particular area of industrial wind and so on is the best place to invest it. We need to answer those questions very quickly. When the Minister says he wants to consult with all those who are interested, what is he proposing in that regard because there is a lot of stakeholders and people interested? I note with annoyance and anger that it costs €1,000 to attend some of these big conferences.

Could we have a conference that ordinary people interested in this area could attend to discuss these matters?

A proposal put to me by people interested in afforestation, and which I believe is implemented in many parts of Europe, is for district energy heating systems and local energy co-operatives. Under the proposal, there would not be a big, centralised, industrialised model; rather, one would determine the extent to which specific areas and towns could generate their own energy, with some assistance from the State in terms of land and local community support, potentially developing local employment and resulting in much greater economic benefits. Could the Minister comment on that?

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The consultation with citizens and local communities has not been adequate and must improve radically. As I mentioned, the Green Paper was published earlier this year. We have received many submissions and responses to it and have gone through them. We have organised a series of nine or ten seminars across the country as an initial response to the submissions. I launched the series some weeks ago. Deputy Colreavy attended the seminar where we launched the second phase of the consultation process. The objective is to work out our energy strategy for the country for the next 20 years, or the next generation. I want to publish by next summer a new strategy to which we can all buy in. We have six months. The Deputy says this should be done urgently. I acknowledge there some is urgency but we need the six months. We are having the seminars and are not charging anybody to enter. One must submit a written expression of interest in attending but we are not charging €1,000. I want to engage with communities, individuals and the Members of this House.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I genuinely welcome that response. I agree that we need a little time, although we should not take too much time. There is urgency but we need real consultation and buy-in. We need to tap into the expertise, knowledge, ideas and enthusiasm of communities and people who know about this matter. I must press my proposal, which has been given to me by others who know more about it than I do but which is a very good idea. I refer to the idea of district energy heating and local energy co-operatives. It requires joined-up thinking with Coillte, which, as I said to the Taoiseach some days ago, has 500,000 acres of land, as identified in the McCarthy report. The company believes the very narrow commercial wood-growing approach is just not viable for it, but it might be very viable for local communities to take some of that land at a peppercorn rent and develop projects thereon growing trees and creating other energy systems, such as small-scale hydroelectric and wind systems, thereby generating real employment. The Minister should seriously think about that and engage with the people proposing this.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I am aware of those kinds of initiatives and would certainly like to support them as best I can. If the Deputy has any additional information that he wants me to have, he should please furnish it to me, and I will certainly consider it.

There is significant scope for district schemes. I have seen evidence of their success in other countries, including in northern Europe. I did not see the schemes in operation but I have read about them and understand them. To date, our progression towards our quite exacting targets – we will receive more tomorrow – has been through onshore wind projects predominantly. I saw Dr. White's article but wind technology has been widely acknowledged so far as the most cost-efficient technology in terms of how the REFIT schemes work and the kinds of interventions that need to occur. This was further supported by an interim report on energy subsidies published by the commission last week. Our current support structures for renewable energy are among the most cost-effective in Europe. I am being absolutely objective in giving the House that information. If we want to shift from that, we need to understand that it is not just a question of abandoning something because we must replace it with something else. Thus far, wind technology appears to have been the most successful, cheap and reliable form of renewable energy production. Let us see what we can achieve.