Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the level of communications he has held with his British counterpart regarding the Memorandum of Understanding on the exporting of wind energy to the UK; if he will confirm if he has met the two commercial companies seeking to erect these wind turbines; and if so on how often and the outcome of such discussions. [49754/12]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive (Directive 2009/28/EC) provides mechanisms whereby renewable electricity can be traded between countries so that renewable power produced in one country may be counted towards the legally binding renewable target in another. This can be done through a number of mechanisms including statistical transfer and joint projects.

I have met on several occasions over the past twelve months with the then UK Energy Minister Hendry and with Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey. The meetings covered a number of issues including the prospect for renewable electricity trading between the jurisdictions in the context of the framework provided by the Renewable Energy Directive.

Exploring renewable trade was already agreed at a high level at the 2011 June British Irish Council summit and had been progressed in the interim at the British Irish Council working group level.

In June this year at a meeting in London with Minister Hendry, both sides agreed to work towards concluding a Memorandum of Understanding around the end of the year which will be an important step in relation to the proposition of cross border renewable trade between the two jurisdictions. This was further progressed at my most recent meeting with Secretary of State Ed Davey on 20 September following the official launch of the East West Interconnector.

Increased interconnection between the two islands offers Irish developers the prospect of being able to access a much larger electricity market. The electricity market in GB is around ten times the scale of the electricity market in Ireland. In the short term there are opportunities for on and offshore wind and biomass projects, but in the medium to longer term as technologies mature and become commercially deployable, there will also be opportunities for wave and tidal developers.

There are currently a number of potential project developers that have expressed interest in renewable export. Several of these developers have met with me to indicate their interest in developing the business of renewable electricity exporters. These developers have also underlined to me the need to progress the bilateral discussions with the UK.

In developing the Memorandum of Understanding, officials from both sides are examining a range of issues around the electricity market, regulatory and technical grid areas to underpin the creation of cross jurisdictional renewable electricity trade. We are working to develop the terms of such an agreement in a way which ensures a mutually beneficial arrangement with the UK and to ensure tangible economic benefits for Ireland.