Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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29. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views that Ireland can reach its 2020 climate change and energy security targets without construction of industrial wind farms in residential areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37234/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The extent of the challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with our EU commitments, is well understood by Government, as reflected in the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development, published in April 2014, and in the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill 2015, recently passed by the Dáil and currently at Committee Stage in the Seanad. The National Policy Position provides a high-level policy direction for the adoption and implementation by Government of plans to enable the State to move to a low-carbon economy by 2050. Proposed statutory authority for the plans is set out in the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill 2015.

In anticipation of enactment of the planned legislation, work is already underway on developing a low carbon plan, the National Mitigation Plan, the primary objective of which will be to track implementation of measures already underway and to identify additional measures within the longer term to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and progress the overall national low carbon transition agenda to 2050. The first iteration of the National Mitigation Plan will place particular focus on putting the necessary measures in place to address the challenge to 2020, but also in terms of planning ahead to ensure that appropriate policies and measures will be in place beyond that. In this context, key sectors in the low carbon transition process (electricity, transport, built environment and agriculture) are currently developing sectoral mitigation measures in tandem with Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) processes during which measures will be further developed and prioritised.

For each year between 2013 and 2020, Ireland has a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target under the 2009 Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) No. 406/2009/EC. For the year 2020 itself , the target set for Ireland is that emissions should be 20 per cent below their value in 2005. This is jointly the most demanding 2020 reduction target allocated under the ESD and one shared only by Denmark and Luxembourg. The target for each of the years 2014 through 2019 is on a straight-line trajectory between the targets for 2013 and 2020.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in May 2015 new annual emission limits and projected emissions for 2020 which indicate that Ireland’s emissions in 2020 could be in the range of 9-14% below 2005 levels. However, even in the worst case scenario (i.e., a 9% reduction), Ireland could be very close to meeting its cumulative compliance obligations for the period 2013-2020 (ESD 2009), which on average require a 12% reduction relative to 2005, given over-compliance in the early years of the 8-year period.

With regard to energy security considerations, 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 legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. In order to meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heating and 10% of transport power from renewable sources. Provisional figures provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland for 2014 show that 8.6% of Ireland's overall energy requirement was met by renewable energy.

Electricity generated from renewable sources is playing an increasingly important role as part of our energy mix. In 2014, 22.7% of gross electricity generation was from renewables including hydro, wind, biomass, landfill gas and biogas. While the progress to date is encouraging, significant challenges remain, particularly in the heat and transport sectors.

The REFIT schemes underpin the development of a range of renewable electricity technologies, including hydro, biomass combustion, biomass combined heat and power, landfill gas and onshore wind. These schemes will be closed to new applications at the end of this year. In terms of renewable heat, in addition to existing measures such as Part L of the Building Regulations, the 2014 Draft Bioenergy Plan recommended the introduction of a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for larger heat users to change to heating solutions that produce heat from renewable sources.

On 31 July last, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources launched two separate consultations on new support schemes, one for renewable electricity and one for a proposed Renewable Heat Incentive. While the initial phase of both consultations closed on 18 September 2015, there will be two further opportunities to contribute at key stages in the design of any new scheme. Those consultations will be informative regarding the technologies that will assist in meeting our future renewable energy targets. Subject to Government approval and State Aid clearance from the European Commission, the new schemes would become available in 2016.

As regards renewable transport, Ireland aims to meet its target mainly through the use of sustainable biofuels. Increasing usage of electric vehicles will also make a contribution. Further increases to the obligation rate in the Biofuels Obligation Scheme will be required in the context of achieving our 2020 target. A public consultation, initiated by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, concluded on 30 October.

From a planning perspective, proposals for the location of individual wind farms are a matter for the relevant developer, taking account of several criteria, including connectivity to the national grid. When considering individual planning applications for such developments and the appropriateness of their location, planning authorities, including An Bord Pleanála where relevant, are required to have regard to local area and county development plans, local authority renewable energy strategies, the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelinesissued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and other relevant matters, including existing residential development, existing wind energy developments, the local landscape and the natural and built heritage.