Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 21: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when it is expected that the European Commission will give state aid permission for the REFIT scheme; the reason for the delay in approving same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29908/11]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Under the 2001/77/EC Directive, Ireland was assigned a renewable electricity target of 13.2% by 2010. Following extensive public consultation and consideration, it was decided that in order to reach the 2010 targets, a new scheme was necessary to deliver the build rate required to meet the renewable electricity directive target level. Experience across Europe clearly showed that feed-in tariffs were proving the most successful of the options available to Member States in terms of encouraging new build. It was for that reason that the Renewable Energy Feed-in-Tariff (REFIT) scheme was announced in 2006 for certain categories of renewable energy, including wind and hydro power. It received State Aid clearance in 2007. The REFIT scheme has achieved its goal, in that at the end of 2010, Ireland had succeeded in surpassing its 2010 target.

The planned extension of this first REFIT Scheme is designed to support up to 4000MW of onshore wind, landfill gas and hydro technologies. The new REFIT scheme for biomass technologies is designed to support a range of technologies including Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and Anaerobic Digestion as well as for co-firing of biomass in the peat power plants.

Separate State Aid applications are being progressed with the European Commission in relation to these schemes. The European Commission are currently finalising their assessments on both applications. I am advised that decisions should be forthcoming in the coming weeks.

On receipt of the Commission's decisions I will be seeking the Government's approval to open the REFIT Schemes for applications. New renewable electricity generation is supported in every Member State and is necessary to underpin delivery of the European Union's ambitious 2020 renewable energy and climate change targets. It also displaces imported fossil fuels in our electricity generation and improves our overall security of supply.