Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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42. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when he will introduce a renewable energy feed in tariff, REFIT, scheme for PV solar and offshore wind energy production; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38595/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The programme for Government contains a commitment to further decrease Ireland's dependence on imported fossil fuels through the use of indigenous renewable energy resources. This commitment builds on the 2015 energy White Paper which recognised the long-term strategic importance of diversifying Ireland's energy generation portfolio. With this in mind, my Department is working on the development of a new renewable electricity support scheme, RESS.  As part of this process, a range of renewable energy technologies will be being assessed, including solar photovoltaics, PV, and offshore wind power technology. It is widely recognised that solar PV technology is becoming cost competitive for electricity generation, not only compared with other renewables but also with conventional forms of generation. It also brings a number of benefits such as relatively quick construction and a range of deployment options, including solar roof-mounted PV and utility-scale solar PV technology.

Ireland’s potentially has one of the best offshore renewable energy resources in the world. Offshore wind projects have been used effectively in other EU member states and can yield a higher relative energy output than onshore wind projects. While the affordability of offshore wind projects has improved in recent years, it remains an expensive option. The most up-to-date installation costs for offshore wind projects will be examined as part of the renewable electricity support scheme development process. This work will help to inform a final decision on whether offshore wind projects are currently a cost-effective option for deployment in Ireland.

The findings of the first technology review public consultation process on a new renewable support scheme were published in 2015 and following the completion of detailed economic analysis of the viability and cost effectiveness of supporting a range of renewable technologies, the findings of a second public consultation process will be published in early 2017. Details of the next public consultation process will be advertised on my  Department's website. Before any new scheme is introduced, it will need to secure Government approval and state aid clearance from the European Commission. The new support scheme for renewable electricity is expected to become available in late 2017.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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With respect to the Minister, I believe 2017 is too late. We have already dealt with the difficulties Ireland is experiencing in meeting its targets. As the Minister knows well, the scheme is unavailable in the case of many of the new important technologies in the generation of solar and offshore wind power. That makes Ireland one of the outliers among its European peers. Homeowners in other jurisdictions are able to make money from solar panels using feed-in tariffs. On a larger scale, the REFIT tariffs can expedite the adaption of technology by providing an added incentive for investors. I fail to understand the reason for the delays in the light of the fact that we have known about the necessity to have feed-in tariffs if we are to advance in line with the growth in technologies. It is well recognised that the cost of solar panels has reduced very significantly. We need to look at other options for offshore wind projects because of the difficulties in addressing planning matters. It is very clear that there is no immediate strategy to address the opportunities provided and all the while we are moving towards 2020. Ireland will not be in a position to meet its targets and we will have to pay fines on the other side.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The immediate priority for me is the renewable heat incentive scheme because it can help us to reach our 2020 targets. It is expected that we will pretty much meet our renewable electricity targets for 2020 based on what is already in the pipeline. The Deputy and his colleagues have been very critical of me in the past because of the cost of the public service obligation, PSO, levy. In approving the new technologies, be they offshore wind, solar or other technologies, the funds will come from consumers' pockets. We must be conscious of this. The difficulty is that there are enough applications within the system for solar photovoltaics; if every other power generation plant and wind turbine in the State was switched off on a sunny day in winter, not only would we have enough electricity to meet our needs in Ireland, we could also export it. Irish consumers are the ones who would have to pay the subsidy which would be about treble the subsidy currently payable for wind generated electricity. I need to try to get the balance right and that is what I am trying to do.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that there are plenty of opportunities and that at some point a qualitative approach must be taken to what is and is not used. Obviously, that will ultimately be dictated by how one sets the tariff or how the support mechanism is set. It is my understanding there are about ten wind farm projects that are held up, accounting for about 200 MW of electricity across the State if the existing REFIT scheme was addressed for onshore wind projects. Of course, the other technologies are exploratory. They are important, but they are going to be costly. However, the Minister is going to have to begin the process of looking at offshore wind projects and solar power and the sooner that happens, the better. It would be acceptable if he put some cap on it. Nobody is suggesting the entire stock in electricity generation be moved from one source to another. There needs to be a mix. It was always recognised in all of the strategic documents that there was a need for a blended mix of resources in order that we would develop the technology and, in so doing, bring down the cost of the generation of electricity. As the Minister knows, in the early stages wind power generation was a lot more costly than it is now. More efficient turbines are now on the market. I again ask that he give consideration to bringing forward the REFIT scheme in a much more timely manner and, obviously, introduce some capacity constraints.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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It is my intention to bring forward the scheme as quickly as I can, but my immediate priority is the renewable heat incentive scheme. We have not been sitting on our laurels. We have been engaged with the Commission on solar costs and it has indicated that import levies on solar panels are likely to be lifted. One of the first things I did as Minister was to sign the North Sea agreement with all of the countries involved, including the United Kingdom, in order that we could share knowledge and technology in the roll-out of offshore wind projects. It is becoming more cost effective, but there are still challenges. There is no doubt, however, that there are huge opportunities in using wind, tidal and wave power off Ireland's coast. We must remember that our territorial waters are ten times the size of the landmass of the island of Ireland. There is massive potential. I am trying to ensure we can encourage and support the development and roll-out of these technologies and do not place an excessive burden on consumers. At the European Council yesterday I raised the issue of how we might support micro-generation because consumers not only have the opportunity to meet their own needs but also to actually export to the grid excess energy and electricity supplies they generate.