Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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160. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will build a strategy in conjunction with the European Commission to fund and construct an Atlantic electricity interconnector which would land west-southwest coast renewable energy directly into the mainland European electricity grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62958/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Beyond Ireland’s 2030 offshore renewable energy targets, the Programme for Government further commits to developing a longer-term plan to take advantage of up to 30GW of offshore floating wind power in our deeper Atlantic waters, which would enable Ireland to become a major regional generator and exporter of offshore renewable energy. Work on a revised Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan is also currently in progress, while the focus of an already established cross-departmental Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce will inter alia ensure that longer term opportunities associated with offshore renewables development, including export possibilities, are captured.

To facilitate this overarching ambition, my Department will continue to support development of regional offshore grids, through the establishment of an appropriate policy framework, engagement with viable proposed new offshore infrastructure projects, including interconnectors, and working groups within the North Seas Energy Cooperation. The revised EU TEN-E Regulation, enacted in June of this year, has also placed Ireland in two priority corridors for offshore infrastructure projects to qualify as EU Projects of Common Interest status, which will facilitate development of future offshore grids and interconnection. The Climate Action Plan further requires that my Department will update the National Policy Statement on Electricity Interconnection of 2018, in order to provide for further connectivity with our neighbours.