Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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Question 15: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the plans that are in place to deliver jobs in the area of wind and ocean energy; and the timescale for same. [12635/12]

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Question 20: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide an estimate for job creation impact of onshore wind farms; and if he will provide an estimate of the number of jobs created by each megawatt of wind brought into the network. [12631/12]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 20 together.

At the end of December 2011, EirGrid reported that there are 1605MegaWatts of onshore wind and 25MegaWatts of offshore wind connected to the grid along with 237MegaWatts of hydro power and 46MegaWatts of smaller renewable sources. This translates to approximately 18% of national electricity consumption now being met from renewable energy sources. Wave and tidal electricity is still at the research, development and deployment stage globally.

The latest estimate by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is that 4,000MegaWatts of renewable generation needs to be in place to meet Ireland's 2020 target of 40% renewable electricity. On this basis some 200MegaWatts per annum of new onshore wind projects needs to be connected to the grid between now and 2020 in order to meet the target.

It is difficult to provide an accurate estimate of the job creation impact of onshore wind projects. Environmental impact assessments need to be undertaken where appropriate. Planning permissions and other relevant licenses and permits need to be obtained. Sites need to be prepared for installation, grid connections need to be constructed and foundations laid and finally turbines need to be ordered and transported to the site for installation. All of these activities create employment opportunities. The number of new wind projects connected in individual years has varied significantly. There will, also, always be a level of ongoing operation and maintenance of wind farms following connection to the grid. Most employment opportunities relating to wind farm development in Ireland are at the pre-installation, installation and commissioning stage.

Ireland does not currently have a manufacturing base for large scale commercial sized turbines. Developers assess the turbines available on the international market and make individual commercial choices. International studies that assess the employment opportunities relating to wind energy usually focus on jobs relating to manufacturing of turbines, cables and other capital equipment. It is not always appropriate to apply these to the Irish situation in terms of arriving at an accurate assessment of jobs created in Ireland by reference to MegaWatts.

The European Wind Energy Association published a report entitled 'Wind At Work' in 2009. This report estimated the direct employment from wind energy in companies in certain European countries in 2007 and put the figure for Ireland at 1,500. For Ireland, the report noted that apart from wind farm developers, Ireland has a variety of companies specialising in engineering, legal services, insurance and finance. The report concluded that 15.1 jobs are created in the EU for every MegaWatt installed, and that wind turbine and component manufacturing jobs would be a significant proportion of that. The Irish Wind Energy Association itself published a study in 2010 entitled 'Jobs and Investment in Irish Wind Energy'. This study estimates that the wind energy sector in Ireland can support 1.5 jobs per MegaWatts installed on the island.

I have engaged with my colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in order to ensure that our Departments and agencies including SEAI, IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) work together, in exploring how Ireland can maximise job creation opportunities in the renewable energy sector. The recent 'Action Plan for Jobs' strategy highlights that Ireland has a number of strengths which it can leverage to create employment and growth opportunities both for indigenous companies and for foreign investment in Ireland. These include:

Excellent renewable energy resources, which raise the prospect of Ireland ultimately becoming an exporter of clean energy to Europe;

A strong R&D base including in the area of ICT which is highly relevant to a number of green economy opportunities;

Strengths as a location to test and develop new technologies – both in terms of existing test– bed sites and taking advantage of Ireland's small size where new technologies can be tested for application to larger markets.

Under the auspices of the British Irish Council and in the EU context also, the Government is committed to progressing the opportunity for renewable energy trading and the potential development of an indigenous renewable energy export sector. In the short to medium term, opportunities may exist to engage in renewable energy trade relating to onshore and offshore wind. Subject to technological developments and commercialisation there may also be significant potential to develop wave energy for export in the medium to longer term. The development of a renewable energy export sector could boost job opportunities in Ireland in the renewable energy sector by creating the conditions for economies of scale for potential manufacturers.