Written answers

Tuesday, 27 June 2017

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Energy Resources

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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61. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the steps that have been taken or which are in progress to achieve the implementation of the policy to transition to a low carbon energy system particularly in view of Bord na Móna’s recent announcement to extend the operation of peat plants beyond 2019 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29475/17]

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The Energy White Paper sets out a vision and a framework to guide Irish energy policy up to 2030. It is a complete energy policy update and its actions have been informed by a vision to transform Ireland into a low carbon society and economy by 2050. This vision is further reinforced by the Programme for Government.

In March, I published a draft of Ireland's first National Mitigation Plan for public consultation and I intend to shortly publish the final version of the Plan. The National Mitigation Plan will set out what Ireland is doing, and plans to do, to further our transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy, by 2050.

While Government policy is to reduce Ireland’s dependence on fossil fuels, it is acknowledged that fossil fuels will have a role in the energy transition.

This is reflected in the draft National Mitigation Plan which notes the role of peat in power generation. While it is recognised that Ireland’s limited biomass resource would be more efficiently deployed in the heating sector long-term, the use of biomass in the peat stations will help to meet Ireland’s renewable energy target and reduce carbon emissions in the sector.  

In keeping with this policy, the public service obligation (or PSO) support for producing electricity from peat has already ended for Edenderry power station and will end for the West Offaly and Lough Ree power stations by 2020. A new PSO support under the REFIT 3 scheme was put in place to support all three peat fired power stations to transition to biomass co-firing.

Bord na Móna’s power station in Edenderry is now in receipt of this support for up to 30% the size of the plant. This has allowed the plant to transition from using peat as its only fuel to using increasing levels of biomass.

The West Offaly and Lough Ree power stations are supplied with peat by Bord na Móna but owned and operated by ESB. These power stations are technically capable of co-firing with biomass similar to Edenderry. Therefore a similar transition path towards increasing levels of renewable energy could be followed.

In addition, Bord na Móna has stated that it intends to cease harvesting peat for electricity generation by 2030. The company has committed to replace large-scale peat production with alternative indigenous energy sources such as biomass. This was outlined in Bord na Mona’s Sustainability 2030 report, published in October 2015. The strategy includes a target to achieve a 75% reduction in the company’s CO2 emissions intensity by 2020, compared to 2007 levels.

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