Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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22. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views regarding the offshore renewable energy development plan and its implementation; his further views on the extent to which wind energy generated offshore will form part of overall energy requirements here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40364/14]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The overarching objective of the Government’s energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a binding target of having 16% of its final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland is committed to meeting this target through meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heat and 10% of transport from renewable sources of energy. The Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP), published earlier this year, is a key milestone in the development of our offshore energy potential. It sets out clearly the Government’s policy in relation to the sustainable development of this abundant resource.

The OREDP identifies the sustainable economic opportunity for Ireland in the period to 2030 of realising the potential of our indigenous offshore wind, wave and tidal energy resources. The Strategic Environmental Assessment found that 4,500 MW of offshore wind and 1,500 MW of wave and tidal generation could be sustainably developed in Irish waters.

A steering group, which draws on the support of relevant Government departments and agencies, will oversee the implementation of the OREDP via three work streams: (i) Environment, (ii) Infrastructure and (iii) Job Creation. The steering group, established in April this year, will report to me annually on progress.

Key implementation objectives include: the introduction of an ocean energy tariff in 2016; the development of the offshore energy supply chain; integration with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland clean tech strategies for investment and job creation; input to the new legislative regime for licensing in the marine area; and exploiting opportunities for international collaboration on device development and deployment.

Onshore wind energy has proved to be the most commercial wind generation technology in the Irish market and the predominant contributor to renewable electricity. This trend is likely to continue in the period to 2020. Analysis of options for increased use of renewable energy is ongoing, with a view to ensuring that our ambition in this area is sustainable, economical and technically feasible.