Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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47. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the new technologies that can be ready for incorporation into the electricity system to address directly the use of fossil fuels in view of the report from the Climate Change Performance Index which placed Ireland last in terms of action on climate change in the European Union. [53131/18]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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My question is in the same vein as the previous one as it relates to the new technologies that are ready to be incorporated into the electricity system. The Climate Change Performance Index ranks Ireland as the worst country in Europe and one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to climate change. That is an indictment of this Government and previous Governments. We are completely reliant on one source of renewable energy for renewable power, namely, onshore wind. Will the Minister of State specify what new technologies can be ready for incorporation into Ireland's electricity supply system?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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The national mitigation plan published in July 2017 was an important first step. It signposted the direction in which Ireland must travel, while openly recognising that it was not a roadmap for delivery. The national development plan has provided a significant part of the roadmap. Specifically in relation to the decarbonisation of electricity, the plan envisages investments to support up to 4,500 MW of renewable energy; enhanced interconnection of the grid to facilitate more renewables; the conversion of Moneypoint by 2025; and the roll-out of smart energy technology.

As the Deputy will be aware, renewable energies now provide, on average, 30% of supply and the system can accommodate up to 65% penetration by renewables at any one time. Further work is under way to enable the power system to manage 75% of renewables in real time by 2020. This is material to the efficacy of managing variable renewable sources. It is our aim over the coming years to increase renewable electricity to 55% of average supply. To achieve this figure, EirGrid is exploring future interconnection, pioneering engineering and economic approaches as well as the introduction of new technologies such as batteries, solar and demand side management to managing more than 90% of renewables in real time by 2030.

It is our intention to develop opportunities for a range of technologies to compete at auction under the renewable energy support scheme with the first auction in 2019. We also intend to develop the scope for microgeneration to supply the grid.

In the coming years, onshore wind, solar, offshore wind and biomass, as well as large-scale grid connected battery energy storage and interconnection, are expected to displace fossil fuels in our power system and drive Ireland’s transition to a low carbon electricity system. In addition, the EU emissions trading system, whose rules have now been reformed for the 2021-30 period, will send a strengthened price signal to the electricity generation sector that will promote investment in decarbonising technology and fuel switching to lower carbon alternatives.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Global warming has been catastrophic in 2018 and it is registering with people that we are not in a good place. For the past seven or eight years, I have been highlighting this issue with the Minister and his predecessors, including Mr. Phil Hogan and Mr. Pat Rabbitte. We do not have many practical measures in place at this stage. The Minister of State referred to measures the Government will put in place. We welcome those and their introduction needs to be accelerated. He also outlined some of the new technologies. The programme for Government made specific commitments in this area which need to be fast-tracked. The cost to the State of not taking this action will be between €100 million and €600 million in the next two or three years.

The Minister of State mentioned converting Moneypoint power station. To what exactly will the Moneypoint plant be converted? Given that our supply of natural gas is running out, does the Government intend converting it to biomass and, if so, from where will the biomass come?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Investment is being made, including €30 billion provided in the national development plan. We have significant potential in this area, including offshore wind. However, this technology is costly to develop, especially on the west coast where there are deep seas and wind factors. Although prices are dropping in Europe, it is likely that subsidies will be required if there is to be significant development of offshore wind.

EirGrid predicts that onshore wind generation will continue to grow across all scenarios in Ireland as the cost of the wind industry decreases over time, with potential for an increase in onshore wind capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030. In addition, solar photovoltaic, PV, generation has become a more economically viable form of electricity generation. It is likely that we will see large-scale solar PV connecting to the system at an increasing rate during the mid-2020s without the need for a subsidy due to the decreasing capital costs.

Large-scale grid connected battery usage energy storage will likely connect across the renewables such as solar and wind to help reduce curtailment levels. Household battery energy storage will likely connect to the domestic solar PV to provide additional self-consumption for consumers. All of these initiatives are taking place and will continue. They are the first steps.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State did not answer my question on what Moneypoint power station will be converted to and where, if it is biomass, the material will come from? Natural gas supplies will last for a further ten years at best, based on current information.

The Minister of State mentioned developing solar generation in the mid-2020s. That needs to be fast-tracked because the mid-2020s is not soon enough. We should have done this yesterday and, failing that, we need to start doing it tomorrow. Solar is a potential energy source that we are not tapping into, while biogas is another. It is recognised across Europe that Ireland has considerable potential for biogas because of its large agricultural sector.

We need to be cautious with biomass because if we import the bulk of the material from outside the State, the carbon miles involved in transporting it will mean we will not reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We need to develop these new industries. Hydropower, for example, is not being considered and we are not making any progress in developing it. We need more concrete action.

This year has been catastrophic in terms of climate change. In the past eight years, I have raised with every Minister a gaping hole in their policies, namely, the failure to use one of the arms of the State, local authorities, to address climate change. The role of local authorities has been repeatedly scaled down, as anybody who has served on a council will recognise. We need to give the 31 local authorities a serious role in tackling climate change and a responsibility for climate action. I appeal to the new Minister and the Minister of State to listen to what I am saying. We should give local authorities a greater role in this area.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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The ESB is looking at potential energy sources for Moneypoint and working on this issue.

The Deputy is right about the local authorities. Each one has a climate action officer and regional climate action offices are in place. A number of weeks ago, we launched a climate adaptation plan for local authorities to integrate climate action into their local area plans and planning processes. At the meeting held in Athlone at the launch of the document, one suggestion was that the installation of electric charging points be made a condition of planning in the case of service stations. We are looking at how to design the country to be able to act on climate change in future. Local authorities have a vested interest but they also have the potential to become great drivers in localities.