Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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78. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans for energy storage to coincide with offshore wind generation. [11578/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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In order to achieve a 7% annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the period 2021-30, there is a Government target that 70% of Ireland’s electricity needs will originate from renewable sources by 2030. There is a further objective, set out in the Programme for Government, to increase the installed capacity of offshore wind generation in Ireland to 5 GW by the end of the decade.  Meeting the 70% renewable electricity target and integrating the anticipated increase in offshore wind generation, while maintaining security of supply, will require a very high penetration of variable electricity on the Irish grid, and various technologies to replace high greenhouse gas emitting power generation fuels, such as peat and coal.

Energy storage, including batteries, will be required to enable high levels of renewable electricity on the Irish grid and the integration of the anticipated 5 GW of offshore renewables by 2030.

The need for more energy storage is recognised in the Programme for Government, which includes a commitment to strengthen the policy framework to incentivise electricity storage, as well as interconnection. In the context of future offshore renewable energy development beyond 2030, there is a further commitment to invest in research and development in ‘green’ hydrogen produced from excess renewable electricity, which has the potential to act as an energy store, for subsequent possible use as a fuel for transport and heating, and for inter-seasonal storage to match variable renewable power generation with system demand.