John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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1054. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the upcoming renewable electricity supported scheme will include technology specific auctions in particular to enable development of solar photovoltaic generation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36614/18]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The high level design of the new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) was approved by Government in July 2018 and the scheme will now proceed through the EU State Aid approval process. It is expected that the first renewable electricity auctions will take place under RESS in 2019. The RESS has been designed to deliver Ireland’s contribution towards an EU-wide renewable energy target of 32% out to 2030, within a competitive auction-based, cost effective framework. The RESS will deliver a broad range of policy objectives including: the provision of pathways and supports for communities to participate in renewable energy projects; broadening the renewable electricity technology mix and increasing energy security, energy sustainability and ensuring the cost effectiveness of energy policy.

The scheme will provide for a renewable electricity (RES-E) ambition of up to a maximum of 55% by 2030 subject to determining the cost effective level which will be set out in the draft National Energy and Climate Plan.

The new scheme will be defined by a series of renewable electricity auctions, where the most cost effective projects within an auction structure will receive financial support in the form of a premium, in addition to the price they receive from the market. In addition to this competitive, cost effective framework, the use of certain ‘levers’ such as near term delivery dates and ‘single technology caps’, will accelerate the broadening of the renewable technology mix, particularly in light of falling costs for a number of renewable technologies.

An important consideration in developing and expanding renewable energy support schemes is that a careful balance must be struck between the subsidy to renewable generators, whether they be large or small, and the additional costs to pay for these schemes that are transferred to electricity bill payers. Proposals for all such schemes must be subject to robust economic appraisal.

Finally, in July I launched a pilot support scheme for micro generation, targeting domestic customers and solar PV, with an emphasis on self-consumption and battery storage.