Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the amount of electricity generated by way of oil, gas, coal, solar power, wind, bio-fuels or other alternatives; the degree to which he intends to incentivise greater investment in alternative energy production; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33574/06]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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According to figures supplied by the Energy Policy Statistical Support unit in Sustainable Energy Ireland, the electricity generated from different fuel types in 2005 was as follows:

Support programmes put in place by the Government have more than doubled the capacity of renewable energy powered electricity generating plants connected to the electricity network in the last two years. Last May I launched a new support programme which moved away from an emphasis on competitive tendering operated over the previous decade to a fixed price type support mechanism known as the Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff. Last month I announced the allocation of the first tranche of support, under REFIT, to fifty five new renewable powered electricity generating plants.

I have announced our intention to treble the contribution by renewable energy sources from 5% of electricity produced to 15% by 2010. The Green Paper on Energy Policy also proposes a target of 30% by 2020. The REFIT initiative will be pivotal in ensuring that the Government's 15% target is met by 2010 and provide the platform along with actions to address technology challenges, for achieving a 30% target by 2020.