Dáil debates
Tuesday, 21 March 2017
Other Questions
Renewable Energy Projects
7:25 pm
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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35. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will investigate the possibility of Coillte transferring a single wind turbine in a location (details supplied) to local community ownership which could provide free electricity for residents in a five to ten mile radius of the wind farm; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13289/17]
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister to investigate the possibility of Coillte transferring a single wind turbine in the Sliabh Bán wind farm development near Strokestown, County Roscommon, to local community ownership. This would provide free electricity for residents within a radius of five or ten miles from the site.
Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The programme for Government recognises the importance of community participation in renewable energy projects in both the national and local interest. This builds on the 2015 energy White Paper commitment to widen the opportunity for community and citizen participation in renewable energy projects.
While the specific proposal detailed by the Deputy is a commercial matter for Coillte, I am committed to ensuring community participation will be a key design parameter of the new renewable electricity support scheme which is under development in my Department. The new support scheme will be designed to enable communities to actively participate and invest in renewable energy projects, simultaneously reaping the benefits of renewable electricity projects in their local area and contributing to Ireland's low carbon energy future.
A core part of this work is to identify ownership models and meaningful pathways for community participation in renewable energy projects and I expect the results of this analysis will be known shortly. It is expected that a second public consultation will issue in the second quarter of 2017 outlining various design options. However, following the outcome of this second public consultation and before any new scheme is introduced, it will need to secure Government approval and state aid clearance from the European Commission. Subject to this, it is expected that the new scheme will become operational in the first half of 2018.
When the project on Sliabh Bán was first proposed I met Coillte to discuss the specific issue Deputy Eugene Murphy raises. At that stage, I sought a dividend for those living in the vicinity of Sliabh Bán who would be directly impacted by the project. I did not succeed, however, because I was virtually a lone voice on the issue. While everyone thinks it is a good idea now, I was unable to successfully progress the proposal at the time because the legislation and structures introduced before my appointment did not facilitate or allow for such a measure to be taken. I pressed Coillte, a semi-State company, on the issue of being seen to be best in class and it is my intention to ensure all projects in any new support scheme will have a community dividend tied into them.
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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To be blunt, the Minister is my constituency colleague and he and I are in trouble as a result of wind farms, including the Sliabh Bán wind farm. Like the Minister, I see the value of wind. However, I have argued for a long time that the stipulations and guidelines in place are out of kilter with the needs of people and their way of life. Coillte must start giving something back and this is one area where we could do something.
The Sliabh Bán wind farm was established under the old guidelines. I hope the Minister will be able to address the issues causing dissatisfaction in the community, including wind turbine noise and their size. As an advocate of wind power, I am not happy with the current structure as it does not provide a good method for dealing with local communities which, in turn, do not buy into wind power. While noise is not an issue for some people, it upsets and annoys others. The Minister should ensure Coillte holds regular meetings with community groups and considers new ideas. The issue of providing local communities with a wind turbine to meet their electricity needs is not new. The practice has been adopted elsewhere in Europe, including Scotland, and it works perfectly well.
7:35 pm
Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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First, Deputy Murphy made the point that there is no good method for dealing with communities and he is correct that this was the case. That is why before Christmas I got the industry to sign up to a new code of practice. I acknowledge some of the people near Sliabh Bawn have dismissed that but it is funny that other communities in County Roscommon that have used the code have said that it has effectively dealt with the noise issue. It is, therefore, working in the county and I urge people to use the code rather than dismiss what we have succeeded in doing. I have said to Coillte officials on numerous occasions that there has to be a community dividend not just in respect of this wind farm, but of every wind farm in the country. The dividend has to extend beyond the term of the wind farm or project.
I have publicly stated that the guidelines are not fit for purpose. It had been my intention to bring in new guidelines prior to Christmas but that was not possible because of the ECJ decision. They will deal with issues such as noise and shadow flicker because they have to be dealt with given that the current guidelines are outdated. There is an opportunity to get this right. They will go out for public consultation and I look forward to the feedback from communities and Members.
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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When this development was proposed in 2011, no more than the Minister, I had many discussions with Coillte officials about giving a turbine to the community, the tourism project on Sliabh Bawn, which will be massive, and other issues. However, people have been affected by noise and by the development of the wind farm and they are unhappy. The wind farm is subject to the old guidelines and it is extremely important that the Minister and, indeed, all Oireachtas Members, acknowledge and accept that there is a huge difficulty with this project. We must acknowledge that people are unhappy. I fully understand that we are way behind in our renewable energy targets and 2020 is approaching. There will be massive fines on the State, which will fall back on the taxpayer. This development, however, cannot be undertaken on the backs of people who are unhappy. We must consult people and listen to their concerns. They are not all mad in respect of what they are saying. I have never opposed wind power but I have stood on my doorstep and the noise factor is extremely annoying. It upsets some people and not others. There are 250 wind farms in the country and the Minister needs to publish the guidelines and to meet people who are concerned. We need to examine their ideas and engage with them. The day of Coillte throwing a few euro to the community is gone and I ask the Minister to challenge Coillte to deal with that issue and to ensure communities get a fair crack of the whip.
Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I acknowledge, and have acknowledged, that there is a difficulty. That is why I put the code of practice in place and that is why the wind industry has written to every Member to tell them there is a new mechanism in place to deal with issues such as those being experienced by the Deputy. Noise is an issue and the new guidelines will reflect that.
The Deputy asked me to meet the people concerned. I met all the players after I became Minister. I met representatives of the communities affected and the industry. I heard all voices before I considered the new guidelines. I listened to, and discussed, the issues that were raised. We had hoped to make progress on this but the ECJ took a decision that has set us back. It is my intention to have the draft guidelines put into the public domain as quickly as possible and to ensure they reflect the concerns that have been raised by communities not only in County Roscommon, but across the country. We cannot ignore these issues and brush concerns under the carpet. That is why the code of practice is in place and I urge people to use it.
Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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We cannot have Coillte monitoring its own noise levels.
Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The next question in the name of Deputy Heydon will be taken by Deputy Durkan.