Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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240. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the percentage of the projected 8GW of onshore wind capacity by 2030 as envisaged by the 2021 Climate Action Plan that will be owned by Irish semi-State companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4797/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Climate Action Plan 2021 sets out Ireland's increased ambition to generate up to 80% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030, contributing to our overall 51% greenhouse gas emission reduction target. To enable this, delivery of up to 8 GW of onshore wind, at least 5 GW of offshore wind and between 1.5 – 2.5 solar PV capacity will be required by 2030. Electricity technologies will compete through regular auctions under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) to supply these volumes, as well as through other routes to market such as corporate power purchase agreements. As the RESS auctions are competitive processes, it is not possible to predict which projects may be successful in future auction rounds.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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241. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the percentage of the projected 5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 as envisaged by the 2021 Climate Action Plan that will be owned by Irish semi-State companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4798/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland is taking a phased approach to offshore wind deployment and participating projects and companies will be finalised through competitive auctions with some attrition expected during the process.

Following enactment of the Maritime Area Planning Act in December 2021, I will have the responsibility for granting the first Maritime Area Consents (MACs) to an initial batch of offshore energy projects. The granting of MACs this year will represent a significant milestone in reaching our 2030 targets, and I recently launched a consultation on the proposed MAC assessment regime for these first projects, the ‘Relevant Projects’. A separate public consultation is also underway regarding the process for Phase Two projects to participate in subsequent offshore wind auctions which will be necessary to meet Government's 5GW target by the end of this decade.

The process to procure 5 GW of installed offshore wind generation by 2030 is expected to primarily take place through competitive auctions. It is not possible to forecast either the outcome of these future competitive auctions, or the prospects of projects subsequently securing all required consents, including planning permission.