Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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1633. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when he expects the commencement of negative pricing of wind energy exported over the east-west interconnector; if he will clarify whether there is any clause in the pricing arrangements made between the UK and Ireland that allows for negative pricing between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and between Ireland and the rest of the UK; the pricing arrangements that have been made between Ireland and the UK on wind energy exports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33184/14]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Interconnector trading is an operational matter for EirGrid and not one in which I, as Minister, have a role or function. Information in relation to the East West Interconnector, including the current electricity transfer in MW, is available on Eirgrid's website at .

The Single Electricity Market (SEM) is the wholesale electricity market for the island of Ireland, regulated jointly by the Commission for Energy Regulation (the CER) and its counterpart in Belfast, the Utility Regulator. By combining what were two separate jurisdictional electricity markets, the SEM became one of the first of its kind in Europe when it went live on 1 November 2007. The SEM is designed to provide for the least cost source of electricity generation to meet customer demand at any one time across the island, while also maximising long-term sustainability and reliability.

With regard to the potential for future wind energy export, it should be noted that no pricing arrangements have been made between Ireland and the UK on wind energy exports. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Cooperation with the UK in January 2013, a joint programme of work was undertaken to complete consideration of how Irish renewable energy resources might be developed to the mutual benefit of Ireland and the UK. However, it was not possible to conclude an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) as originally envisaged. Economic analysis conducted on the Irish side clearly indicated that under agreed policy and regulatory conditions, renewable energy trading could deliver significant economic benefits to Ireland and the UK, as well as being attractive to developers. However, renewable energy trading has to be designed to work, and given the economic, policy and regulatory complexities involved, and the key decisions yet to be taken by the UK, delivery by 2020 of renewable energy trading is not now a realistic proposition. In the context of a European Internal Energy Market, greater trade in energy between Britain and Ireland is inevitable in the post 2020 scenario.