Tony Mulcahy (Fine Gael)

My colleagues will deal with some elements of it.

The population of the nine counties along the western seaboard and the Shannon Estuary, from County Donegal to County Cork, is approximately 1.6 million. They cover an area of 38,450 sq. km., or over 50% of the country, and there are not enough people to fill it, as for decades emigration was a fact of life for young people until the Celtic tiger arrived. However, we are still losing people to emigration because there are not enough jobs available for them here and we are caught in a downward spiral of financial difficulties and media-driven doom and depression. This has everything to do with the motion.

We have the potential in that part of the country to reverse the scourge of emigration and bring back the brightest people this country has ever produced to live, work and pay taxes here and rebuild the country. Renewable energy projects are part of the answer. With some of the best natural resources in the world, namely, wind, wave, tidal, hydroelectric and biomass energy, we can reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels. We import approximately €6 billion worth of various fuels every year; therefore, by switching over more and more to renewables, we can save vast amounts in our balance of payments and create jobs in Ireland.

We cannot afford to be held to ransom by political events outside Ireland. The upheaval in the Middle East and north Africa as a result of the Arab Spring has resulted in higher prices for imported oil and gas which are having a major effect on our competitiveness as a country. Industry is being hit with increased costs for electricity, transport or raw materials that are oil based. Domestic consumers are also feeling these when they look at their electricity, heating, petrol or diesel bills.

The share of electricity consumption from renewable energy sources jumped between 2000 and 2010 from 5.5% to 14.8%. This is above the EU target for 2010 of 13.2% as per the renewable energy source directive, RES. This is happening because

Ireland has some of the best wind energy sources in Europe, with the wind blowing in from the Atlantic. At the end of 2011 we had a connected energy supply of some 1,500 MW from wind farms and expect to have further capacity of 5,000 MW by 2020. We have, therefore, much to do in the next eight years.

In its 2011-50 wind energy road map report the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland estimates that we have "the potential to create 20,000 jobs in the installation, operation and maintenance of onshore and offshore wind farms in Ireland by 2040". Furthermore, the "potential economic value of electricity generated from wind could reach €15 billion by 2050". We could, therefore, have between 11 GW and 16 GW from onshore wind farms and up to 30 GW from offshore wind farms by 2050. These figures are significant and emphasize the massive potential of the sector, as well as the number of wind farms that need to be brought online. The European Wind Energy Association has indicated that for every megawatt provided, 15.1 jobs are created in the European Union. There were 154,000 employed in the wind energy sector in 2007 and this figure is forecast to rise to 325,000 by 2020. As Ireland lies on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, tidal and wave energy must be harnessed. In SEAI's, Ocean Energy Roadmap 2010 - 2050, it proposes that up to 29 GW of ocean energy capacity can be installed without significant environmental impact and up to 70,000 jobs with up to €12 billion in cumulative economic benefit by 2030 and €120 billion by 2050. All of that will put huge strains on the national grid and thus EirGrid is in the process of upgrading and strengthening the grid with its Grid 25 programme. This involves the investment of up to €4 billion. We must ensure that this programme is rolled out with the utmost speed. As we are in a downturn in our economic cycle this is the time projects should be fast-tracked as construction costs have fallen. In addition, our demands from industry for energy are lower at the moment and that must be viewed as an opportunity. The seeds of recovery planted today will bear fruit in the near future.

I have spoken previously on the grid and the issues relating to the Gate 3 process. We should be looking at a new Gate 4 process that will be directed at the export of excess energy to the UK and Europe. As part of the programme for Government we stated, "We will ensure that future wind farms are built in locations where wind regime is best and that they are built in large numbers or in clusters to reduce the cost of connection to the grid under new plan led Gate 4 process as opposed to the existing developer led system". The developer-led system is the cause of the current problem. If we implement this process we can let EirGrid target those projects that have the necessary permissions and finance in place to proceed much quicker. There is no point in running a new line 50 to 80 miles to connect to a tiny wind farm just because the Gate 3 process allows for it, when one could have many projects far closer to the existing grid connected in a shorter time, that are ready to proceed now but have been told that it could be up to ten years before they get a connection. In such a situation, there is a case for the Government to consider the construction of privately-owned grids serving specific customers or locations. There is nothing like a bit of competition to get people focused and creative.

The east-west interconnector will be a huge boost to our ability to export energy. When it goes live this 500 MW interconnector will enable trade from the single electricity market, SEM, on the island of Ireland to the British electricity trading and transmission arrangements market, BETTA. Cost-benefit analysis studies should be carried out by EirGrid into the viability of connecting with France. Both Britain and France have ageing nuclear power generating stations. Britain has said that it is willing to invest up to £5 billion to ensure that its energy requirements are achieved. The British-lrish Council is the forum that may allow us to benefit from this. The French Court of Audit stated in a report covered in yesterday's New York Post that 22 of France's nuclear power stations will reach their expected 40 year lifespan by 2022. They will either have to extend their lifespan or else sharply increase investment in electricity production. That would be equivalent to building 11 next generation nuclear power plants. The French have already spent €188 billion on their existing plants.

Meanwhile, Germany has said all of its nuclear power plants will be shut by 2022. It would be far cheaper for these countries to import electricity from locations such as Ireland. If we can open up further interconnectors, vast markets for clean carbon-free energy are there for the taking. If we do not, then some other country will fill those needs even though they do not have the wind or wave capacity we have.

We could also use the new interconnector projects to lay high-speed fibre optic cables to enable fast data transfer between North America, Ireland and Europe. Pumped hydro is another feature of the renewable mix that we should be investigating. At present we have the Turlough Hill pumped hydro facility in County Wicklow which can store approximately 1.5 GW per hour of electricity. EirGrid should look further at this option in locations that have been identified by such groups as Spirit of Ireland and others. There are other potential add-on benefits of such facilities. Electric Mountain in Snowdonia in Wales, which attracts more than 300,000 paying visitors per year, is such an example. We have locations around the country that may be suitable for this, such as corrie lakes formed during the previous ice age in areas such as Kerry, Donegal, Galway and Mayo. Local authorities could identify where such renewable projects could be feasible and county development plans are now taking a proactive approach in setting targets for renewable projects.

Professor J. Owen, chief executive of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, in the foreword to the Energy in Ireland 1990-2010 report published in December 2011 states:

A particularly encouraging development is the significant greater involvement of local decision makers and opinion formers in supporting the drive towards sustainable energy. The recent production of renewable energy strategies in counties Mayo and Clare is a clear example of this. Both counties highlight the positive benefits associated with the exploitation of natural renewable resources in a sustainable manner, while critically identifying areas in their counties where such development would be seen in a more positive light.

Data storage is another add-on to the mix of renewable energy projects. Many of the major Internet search companies such as Google and Adobe and social media companies such as Facebook are looking for locations to store vast amounts of data. They use huge amounts of energy keeping their servers from over-heating. It does not matter where they are situated and if the climatic conditions are cool then they will use less energy. Ireland offers such a location. With high speed fibre optic links such as the North-South Kelvin direct international connectivity project which was completed in late 2010, direct international connectivity between the north-west and Border regions with North America and Britain can now be provided. Further links will now be achieved through the east-west interconnector - a 7,000 GB fibre optic link to Britain.

With these strategic pieces of infrastructure we can tap into the data storage market. Google has spent €200 million on such a facility in Finland to serve the Nordic market. It is based in a former paper mill which closed in January 2008 but has been given a new lease of life following a refit by the company that bought it in 2009. The facility will be serviced by a 12 MW wind farm nearby. If we could tap into the next fibre optic project from North America to Europe which will be laid off the south coast, we could open up the counties of Kerry, Cork and Waterford to this market. Big international companies want to be associated with clean energy and clean technology.

Large industrial bases such as Shannon Free Zone have the potential to brand themselves as carbon-free zones. Situated between the airport and the town with a population in excess of 10,000, we could copy the Swedish model of building combined heat and power plants which would use carbon reducing biomass fuel sources such as locally grown willow, miscanthus and pine wood pulp which would support farmers and forestry growers along the western seaboard and the midlands. The power generated could be used to power the industrial estate and the airport. The heat generated could be used to heat the town by piping hot water to the houses, thus creating one giant central heating system. This would off-set the importation of fossil fuels to produce electricity and oil to heat houses. Such an approach could be replicated in many locations throughout the country. These projects could be rolled out all over the country where there are population centres and industry in close proximity. If the Minister so wishes I will forward him a briefing on the issue although I am sure he has it already. For such projects to locate in this country we must examine how we allocate the REFIT tariff to such producers.

We must also examine the reason it takes so long in this country for large projects to get off the ground. We must look at the criteria used in how objections to large-scale projects in this country are lodged and dealt with. It is a citizen's right to object but there have been situations where renewable projects have been objected to by individuals and entities that do not live in close proximity to the proposed project but dozens of miles away and in some cases more than 100 miles away. There have been cases where the same individual objectors pop up, such as local government, the SEAI and the EPA. The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government must examine the issue and at the same time seek to protect the environment. We can create jobs in this country with a little help in planning and a lot of common sense, which I am sure the Minister will bring to the Department. The biggest issue is the EirGrid interconnector and how we bring to fruition the shovel-ready projects that are waiting to commence.