Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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813. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the percentage of energy his Department estimates will be generated by renewable energy by 2020 given current policy and current trends; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22842/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. Provisional data from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland estimates that we had reached 9.2% of the overall 16% target at the end of 2015. While good steady progress has been made, the 16% target remains challenging and will require the additional deployment of renewable energy in the electricity, heating and transport sectors between now and 2020.

In order to achieve the overall binding 16% total energy target, the Government remains committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable sources, 12% renewables in the heating sector and 10% in transport by 2020. The Government has adopted a range of policy support measures designed to meet these aims.

In the electricity sector, the primary support mechanisms introduced for renewable electricity are the Alternative Energy Requirement schemes and the Renewable Energy Feed-In-Tariff (REFIT) schemes. These schemes have proved successful at incentivising the development of the renewable electricity generation capacity necessary to meet our 40% renewable electricity target, and provisional figures show that in 2015 some 25.3% of electricity demand was met by renewable sources.

In the heating sector, my Department is working on the introduction of a new Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to support the deployment of renewable energy in the sector. The primary aim of the RHI is to build on the progress already made in heating and to help reach our 12% target by 2020. In 2015 it is estimated that 6.8% of heat was derived from renewable sources.

In the transport sector, Ireland aims to meet our renewable target mainly through the increased use of sustainable biofuels, with electric vehicles also making a small contribution. In 2015, provisional figures indicate 5.7% of our energy needs in the transport sector were met from renewable sources.

The White Paper on Energy Policy sets out a vision for transforming Ireland's fossil-fuel based energy sector into a clean, low carbon system by 2050.  The Programme for Government also sets out important objectives in the energy sector that build on this vision. The clear focus of my Department is on implementing the range of actions set out in the White Paper and Programme for Government that are aimed at meeting our energy and climate change targets.