Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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274. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the latest progress in meeting the overall renewable targets by 2020 under Directive 2009/28/EC on renewable energy, including the progress on meeting the targets for the contribution of renewables and biofuels to gross electricity consumption, transport energy and heat since the Government came to office; and his plans to ensure that Ireland meets its 2020 and 2030 target. [38178/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The Energy White Paper 'Ireland's Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015-2030', published in December 2015, sets out a high-level framework for Ireland's energy transition to a low carbon economy and society and identifies a range of measures and actions to support this aim.

The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive sets Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland is committed to achieving this target through meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heat and 10% of transport from renewable sources of energy, with the latter transport target also being legally binding. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has calculated that 25.3% of electricity, 6.5% of heat and 5.7% of transport energy requirements were met from renewable sources at end 2015. The SEAI analysis also shows that 9.1% of Ireland’s overall energy requirements in 2015 were met from renewable sources.

The Government has a range of policy measures and schemes to incentivise the use of renewable energy and although good progress towards the target has been made to date, meeting the 16% target remains challenging. My Department is currently developing a proposed new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) and a new Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme. The introduction of any new scheme - including the overall costs and technologies to be supported - will be subject to Government approval and State aid clearance from the European Commission.

In the transport sector, Ireland aims to meet its renewable target mainly through the increased use of sustainable biofuels, with electric vehicles also making a small contribution.  Further increases to the obligation rate in the Biofuels Obligation Scheme will take effect from 1 January 2017 when the biofuels obligation rate will increase to 8% by volume. Concerning the post 2020 period,  on Wednesday of this week the European Commission published a proposal for a new Renewables Directive that envisages a binding European Union target of at least 27% in 2030. Over the coming period, the details of this proposal will be scrutinised by my Department.

As regards 2030 targets for the non-ETS sector, the specific details of the contribution to be made by each Member State in respect of this sector were the subject of a European Commission proposal published on 20 July 2016. The full implications of this proposal from a domestic perspective are currently being examined.