Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, to the Chamber. We are entering a quite exciting renewables phase. The technology is advancing and the opportunity to generate renewable electricity, particularly off the west coast, is evident to everybody. In recent weeks, the Taoiseach referred to the cost-of-living crisis, particularly the energy crisis we now face, and acknowledged what we all know is a fact, that is, that we are in for a difficult seven or eight years ahead. This will mean the decarbonisation of our energy production when there is energy price inflation. One solution, as advocated by the Government, is to become more self-sufficient and produce more of our own energy, and to do so through renewables such as offshore wind. This will be the key to generating more electricity domestically and having a more sustainable supply for ourselves that we can say is green and decarbonises the economy.

Many people, following the Taoiseach's comments and others by the Government, were asking where the Government's strategy on offshore wind energy is. They were asking about our plan of action for the rest of this year, next year, the short term, the medium term and the long term. We realise there is a technological challenge but we also know the technology exists. Other countries are already using it, so there is no reason we cannot do the same. We can become a net exporter of energy if we do the right thing and put the right investment and infrastructure in place. We need to manage the environmental impacts of putting wind turbines in the sea, and we also need to work with our fishermen, fisherwomen and fishing communities to make sure they are not negatively impacted. I am sure we can achieve the right balance in this regard, working closely with them. People are now looking for hope. They are looking to see what the Government is doing to deal with the energy crisis at a time when energy costs are rising. We know we are too vulnerable when it comes to sources of energy from outside our own country, and we also know we burn too much fossil fuel in this country to generate electricity.

With these two points in mind, it would be welcome to hear about the Government's strategy and what we aspire to achieve as a country in the coming years, particularly along the west coast. I am from County Mayo. From having lived there, I can attest that it is one of the windiest counties in the country, but the opportunities are immense. We have a vast coastline. The same applies to Clare, Galway, Sligo and Donegal. There are immense opportunities for offshore wind energy generation, but it will be expensive and require a significant State investment to put the infrastructure in place, work with communities and work to ensure we can achieve our goal of being more self-sustaining and self-sufficient in the production of our energy.

I acknowledge that we have particular planning difficulties associated with many of these initiatives. This will have to be addressed. I would welcome the Minister of State's comments on how we are to deal with the planning process for wind turbines, particularly because offshore wind energy will present new challenges that we may not have dealt with in planning for renewable energy sources previously.

I have a question about the grid. There is little point in producing vast amounts of electricity offshore if we cannot transfer it to the national grid. We are aware that we have considerable vulnerabilities in the grid, particularly in the west. I understand and acknowledge that EirGrid has been invested in significantly in recent weeks to increase capacity, but ambition in this regard to match our ambitions for increasing renewable energy seems to be lacking. We have to match our ambitions with investment in the grid so the two can work together.

Could the Minister of State talk about the strategy for the short and medium terms, the level of investment by the State to realise it, the percentage of our energy we expect to derive from offshore wind and how we are going to deal with grid capacity to capitalise on the energy we produce?

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I welcome the pupils and teachers in the Visitors Gallery to the Seanad. I do not know what school they are from. We are now dealing with Commencement matters, which are matters raised very briefly by Senators in the House. A relevant Minister comes in to respond and the sessions are very tight. The guests are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their day. I hope we inspire one or two of them to enter politics.

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I thank the Senator for asking these important questions about offshore wind policy and how it affects the whole country, including her area, Mayo.

Ireland has one of the best offshore renewable energy resources in the world. We have a sea area of 490,000 sq. km, which is about seven times the size of our land area. Because of Ireland's location at the edge of the Atlantic and the EU, we have more energy potential than most countries in Europe. The climate action plan of 2021 includes a suite of actions to realise the full potential of the totality of Ireland's offshore renewable energy resources, and it also commits to the achievement of 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.Our programme for Government sets out a further commitment to develop a long-term plan to harness the estimated potential of at least 30 GW of offshore floating wind power in our Atlantic waters, which could enable Ireland to become a major regional generator and exporter of offshore renewable energy.

The 5 GW target will be primarily met through the development of offshore renewable energy in Ireland's eastern and southern coastal regions. This reflects the suitability of water depths in these regions for the deployment of conventional fixed bottom offshore wind turbines and existing electricity grid infrastructure to connect these projects to the onshore grid. Subsequent cost-effective deployment of renewables in deeper waters off the west coast, in order to take advantage of greater wind resources, should be increasingly feasible through future advances in floating turbine technology.

The national marine planning framework, NMPF, was published in 2021 and brings together all marine-based human activities for the first time, outlining the Government's vision, objectives and marine planning policies for each marine activity, including port activity and offshore renewable energy. The Maritime Area Planning Act was enacted in late 2021 and provides the legal underpinning to an entirely new marine planning system, which will balance harnessing our huge offshore wind potential, while protecting our rich and unique marine environment.

An eight-week MAC application window for the first batch of projects, known as the phase 1 projects, coming in under the new regime was opened on 25 April 2022 and will close on 22 June 2022, with the first MACs expected to be granted in quarter 3 of 2022. The first phase of offshore wind in Ireland will be necessary, but not sufficient, to reach our 2030, 5 GW ambition. An additional phase is required, comprising projects which can deliver by 2030 and before we complete the transition to a plan-led enduring regime.

The Department is currently reviewing submissions on a recent consultation to gather views on the scale, make-up and sequencing of phase 2 of offshore wind deployment. A new offshore renewable energy development plan, OREDP Il, will be published in the first quarter of 2023. It will assess Ireland's offshore energy resource potential, including for floating wind off the west coast, and will provide an evidence base for the identification of the areas most suitable for the sustainable development of fixed and floating wind, wave and tidal technologies in the Irish exclusive economic zone, while also considering other maritime activities and marine biodiversity.

The OREDP Il, along with a planned economic analysis, will set out the pathway for the long-term sustainable development of offshore renewable energy beyond 2030. This plan will provide a framework for the future sustainable development of Ireland's ORE resources.

A cross-departmental offshore wind delivery task force has been established to drive delivery and capture wider and longer-term economic and business opportunities associated with the development of offshore renewables in Ireland. This will include the identification of supporting infrastructure development and supply chain opportunities as Ireland's offshore wind industry is developed. The development of offshore renewable energy in Ireland will bring us closer to achieving our energy and climate goals, reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels and increasing our security and diversity of energy supply.

Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. There is some positive stuff in it, but it appears to be lacking in terms of the level of ambition we would like to see for the west of Ireland. I understand the technology is slightly different and is not as easy to install floating, as opposed to fixed bottom, turbines, but the Minister of State acknowledged in his reply that the wind resources off the west coast are far greater than elsewhere. If we are serious about achieving our 2030 targets, which we are currently not on track to meet, and we want to do more than that longer-term, that is where we have to be ambitious and what we should aim for.

I ask for a renewed commitment to advancing projects in the west of Ireland because that is where we will reap the greatest benefit. It should not deter us because it is the more difficult option; if it is the better option it is the one we should pursue now and not wait for ten years when we will have missed our 2030 target.

I also welcome the new development plan, OREDP II. It will consider the possibility of offshore wind for the west coast. We will be waiting with bated breath to read that plan next year. We hope we will deliver it in quarter 1, as the Minister of State promised in his response.

I did not hear anything from the Minister of State about the level of investment the Government is putting into the development of offshore wind. I am not sure if he has any answers to that at the moment. If he does not, his officer might forward that information on at the earliest opportunity. I ask for some more detail on the cross-departmental offshore wind delivery task force. Who is on it? Does the Minister of State sit on it? Are there any Members of the Oireachtas on it? Does it meet in public or in private?Is there access to the minutes? Is there transparency around the work that the task force does? It sounds interesting and promising. I would love an opportunity as a Member of this House to engage with that task force.

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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As the Senator pointed out, the west has more wind. It has faster speeds and more regular wind and, therefore, there is more to be harvested. However, it also has deeper waters and a more environmentally sensitive coastline. There are, for example, the Cliffs of Moher and many beauty spots along the west. It is, therefore, harder to develop wind there using the conventional approach, which is to put a wind turbine in the sea and build it onto foundations. That can be done in the shallow waters of the east coast where the wind is not so strong. We are moving towards floating wind turbines, which are a newer technology that is not quite yet commercial. However, I was in Portugal recently. They have a floating turbine there as a pilot and all their water is deep. We are not the only country in the world that is facing this issue. Japan is in the same situation in trying to face this. Our current plan is to not build floating turbines until after 2030. However, there is a war in Ukraine. There is an accelerated need to move towards renewable energy. We know this because long-distance commuters are feeling pain when they have to put petrol in their cars. People are who are on low incomes are finding it hard to heat their homes because the enormous price of fossil fuels.

There is an acceleration across Europe. The European Commission’s REPowerEU plans are all about how we speed up the development of offshore wind and renewables in general, as well as how we can go beyond our current plans. I, therefore, ask the Senator to watch this space.