Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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190. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which wind, wave or solar energy are being developed to meet Ireland’s climate change targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28767/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) annual Energy in Ireland report sets out the final annual figures of total electricity generated and the percentage of electricity generated from renewable sources in Ireland. The latest edition of the report is available here: www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/key-publications/energy-in-ireland/.

Provisional estimates by EirGrid for 2021 indicate that approximately 35% electricity generated  was from renewable sources. The majority of renewable electricity was generated from wind, which provided approximately 31% of total electricity generated.

The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is one of the major Government policies to help deliver on the ambition in the Climate Action Plan 2021 of up to 80% renewable electricity by 2030.  The first projects from RESS 1 started commercial operation by the end of 2021, with Irelands first large solar farm achieving commercial operation in April 2022. I recently announced the provisional results of the second RESS auction (RESS 2) which is expected to deliver an increase of nearly 20% in Ireland’s renewable energy generation.

Design of the RESS 3 onshore auction is also currently under development and my Department is also finalising the terms and conditions on the first of three planned auctions this decade for the offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS). A roadmap of future auctions which sets out the indicative timelines and volumes for onshore and offshore auctions over the coming decade was published in December 2021.

Work is also underway to develop a pathway for offshore development post-2030 and a revised Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP II) is currently in progress. This will identify the most suitable areas for the sustainable development of fixed and floating wind, wave, and tidal technologies in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), while also considering other maritime activities and marine biodiversity.

Through the measures set out in the National Energy Security Framework and the Climate Action Plan 2021, my Department is working across Government to rapidly boost the supply of renewable energy generation to reduce our dependency on imported fossil fuels and delivering on our climate targets.