Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Question 233: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he has allocated funding for research on wave and tidal energy in 2005. [14059/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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Sustainable Energy Ireland, established as a statutory agency in May 2002, implements initiatives on renewable energy and energy efficiency, including research, on behalf of my Department. Its renewable energy research, development and demonstration programme aims to stimulate the deployment of renewable energy technologies that are close to market and also to assess and develop potentially successful technologies. The programme provides support for renewable energy product research, development and demonstration, market demonstration of new technologies, resource studies and public good research activities.

Sustainable Energy Ireland has through its renewable energy research, development and demonstration programme commissioned and funded the publication of two major studies in the form of atlases which between them quantify and locate the wave energy and offshore wind energy resources for Ireland. Sustainable Energy Ireland has also part-funded five demonstration-feasibility projects in the wave and offshore wind energy sectors. These include the development of an engineering specification for 1 MW wave energy pilot plant; scale modelling and wave tank testing programme; assessment of inshore Atlantic wave regime; assessment of tidal and marine current energy resources in Ireland; impacts of tidal and wave energy on an all-Ireland electricity system.

Sustainable Energy Ireland commitments in this sector amount to €445,000. It is estimated expenditure in this field will be €194,000 in 2005. In addition to the work being carried out by Sustainable Energy Ireland, technical and research development capabilities in ocean energy are being expanded through a new €1 million contract over three years between the Marine Institute and the hydraulics and maritime research centre in UCC to develop a centre of excellence for wave energy study. The new contract will allow UCC to build up a technical support team in its wave tank facility which provides test facilities for device developers. A protocol for device developments has also been developed with a view to providing a recognised benchmark for ocean energy device standards. This is now being used by device developers and by agencies or financiers who wish to evaluate proposed devices for support.

The Marine Institute has recently applied to the Department for foreshore permission to develop a site in Galway Bay which can be used to assist developers in testing large-scale devices. It is expected that this application will be published for public consultation in the coming weeks. In tandem with these developments Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Marine Institute have commissioned a study by Peter Bacon and Associates on the economic benefits of wave development and it is expected that this study will be published shortly.