Written answers

Tuesday, 7 February 2017

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

National Mitigation Plan

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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56. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans for the development of the alternative energy sector in line with current and future requirements in view of the need to meet carbon emission reduction targets and the necessity to ensure a robust and reliable energy grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5788/17]

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The 2014 National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development, which is underpinned by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, provides the high-level policy direction for the State to move to a low-carbon economy by 2050. The development of sectoral mitigation measures for the electricity generation, the built environment, transport and agriculture sectors to be set out in a National Mitigation Plan (NMP) is well advanced. The primary objective of the first NMP will be to monitor measures already underway and identify potential additional measures that, in the medium to longer term, will reduce GHG emissions. This will assist Ireland to achieve our national transition objective to become a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by the end of 2050.  Following public consultation, the first of which was launched last week, the NMP will be submitted to Government for approval in June.

The overarching objective of the Government’s energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. The 2015 Energy White Paper sets out a vision to guide Irish energy policy and the actions that Government intends to take in the energy sector from now up to 2030, aimed at transforming Ireland's fossil-fuel based energy sector into a clean, low carbon system by 2050.

In order to meet our legally binding renewable targets by 2020, the Government has a range of policy measures and schemes to incentivise the use of renewable energy. The existing Renewable Electricity Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) schemes are the principal means of supporting renewable electricity generators for energy exported to the grid. A new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) to provide support for renewable electricity is under development in my Department. An initial public consultation was launched in 2015. A further consultation is due to take place in the first half of 2017, with the broad details of the scheme being published later this year.

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 for commercial and industrial users of heat in the non-ETS sector. A further consultation on the RHI, which I announced last month, is available on my Department’s website at www.dccae.gov.iewith a closing date of 3 March for responses. Finalisation of these two schemes is subject to Government and State aid approval from the European Commission.

In the transport sector Ireland aims to meet our 10% renewable target mainly through the increased use of sustainable biofuels, with electric vehicles also making a small contribution out to 2020.

Budget 2017 has provided over €100 million to support energy projects. This funding will be split between the existing energy efficiency programmes and rolling out a series of new initiatives and pilots that can lay the foundation for increased investment in future years which will also support employment in the sector.

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