Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The primary support mechanisms for renewable energy, including wind energy, are the Alternative Energy Requirement (AER) schemes and the Renewable Energy Feed-In-Tariff (REFIT) schemes. These schemes incentivise the development of the renewable electricity generation capacity necessary to allow Ireland to meet its target of 40% of electricity demand from renewable generation by 2020. This target must be achieved in order for Ireland to meet its binding obligation of 16% of total energy demand to be met from renewable sources by 2020. Both the AER and REFIT schemes are funded from the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy.

Provisional figures provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for 2014 show that 8.6% of Ireland's overall energy requirement was met by renewable energy. In addition, SEAI has calculated that 22.7% of electricity was met from renewable sources, the majority of which is onshore wind as it is the most cost effective technology available to Ireland. The Government recognises, however, that onshore wind must be complemented by other policies to meet our renewable energy ambitions. In addition to our onshore wind resources, bioenergy, solar and other technologies may play a critical role in diversifying our renewable generation portfolio over the period to 2030.

The PSO levy is charged to all electricity customers and is not a cost to the Exchequer. It is designed to support the national policy objectives of security of energy supply, including through the use of indigenous fuels (i.e. peat), and the use of renewable energy sources in electricity generation. The proceeds of the levy are used to recoup the additional costs incurred by suppliers in sourcing a proportion of their electricity supplies from such generators.

Estimates of subsidies funded by way of the PSO levy for each year since 2011 are published in the annual PSO decision by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). The bulk of subsidies for renewable electricity generation paid under these schemes have been for wind. The following table presents the total costs for both the AER and REFIT schemes since 2011:

Analysis is being undertaken by my Department, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, EirGrid and the CER to further assess the costs and benefits associated with achieving 40% renewable electricity generation in 2020, compared to a scenario where renewable electricity remains at 2013 levels. This ongoing analysis will inform a report to be published shortly, and builds on existing work in this area such as the recently published SEAI report on Quantifying Ireland’s Fuel and CO2 Emissions Savings from Renewable Electricity in 2012, which found that the value of the fossil fuels not consumed in the Republic of Ireland in 2012 as a result of renewable electricity generation is estimated at €245 million, with the value of avoided CO2 emissions being a further €15 million. In addition, a more recent study by SEAI has shown that the use of renewables in the electricity sector in 2014 avoided €250 million of fossil fuel imports. This study is available on their website at .