Written answers

Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Renewable Energy Generation

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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734. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the degree to which he continues to promote carbon reduction policies including the generation of electricity from non-fossil fuel sources; the extent to which non-fossil fuel sources currently supply the national grid as a percentage of total electricity production; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8193/20]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Climate Action Plan sets out how Ireland will achieve its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and cut emissions by 35%, and put Ireland on a trajectory consistent with net zero carbon emissions by 2050. A key part of the Plan is a move to 70% renewable electricity by 2030 through, inter alia,:

- at least 3.5 GW of offshore renewable energy

- up to 1.5 GW of grid-scale solar energy

- up to 8.2 GW of onshore wind capacity

The Plan includes a number of actions to deliver this target, including regulatory streamlining of renewables and grid development; development of the offshore renewables sector, implementation of the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS); and development of an enabling framework for micro-generation. 

The Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) have calculated that at the end of 2018, 33.3% of electricity demand was met by renewable sources.The provisional figure for 2019 is 36.6%.

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