Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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93. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if Ireland is on track to meet the goal of generating 80% of its electricity from renewable energy by the end of the decade. [19715/23]

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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96. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide an update on the supports for renewable energy under the National Development Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10259/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 96 together.

Ireland has made considerable progress in decarbonising our electricity sector over the last decade, owing mainly to the construction of renewable generation sources and their successful integration onto the electricity grid. Ireland is ranked in the top five countries in the world for installed wind power capacity per capita and is a world leader in the integration of variable renewable electricity onto the grid.

While the National Development Plan Review committed to increasing the share of renewable electricity to up to 80% by 2030, the recent Climate Action Plan Update, CAP 23, strengthened this by committing Ireland to achieving 80% of electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030 and to reach 22 GW of installed renewable electricity generation capacity by 2030.

This will require unprecedented levels of investment in renewable electricity generation development and in the infrastructure required to expand and strengthen our electricity grid.

The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is one of the main Government policies to deliver this renewable generation capacity, which led to 2022 being a record year for renewable sources being connected to the grid. The second RESS auction is expected to deliver an increase of nearly 20% in Ireland’s renewable electricity generation by 2025. The third RESS auction and first Offshore RESS auction are being held this year, with further auctions to be held in line with the RESS auction calendar.

The Micro-Generation Support Scheme (MSS) allows domestic and non-domestic applicants to receive funding to produce and consume their own electricity. Since 2018, the SEAI has supported the installation of domestic Solar PV systems for close to 19,000 homes. Over 10,000 applications were received in 2022 and close to 4,000 applications have been received to end March this year.

The Small-Scale Generation Scheme (SSGS) is in development and is expected to be launched later this year, with the aim of supporting renewable electricity generators who are too large for the MSS but too small for the RESS. The SSGS will also provide a simpler route to market for community projects.

EirGrid are currently updating ‘Shaping Our Electricity Future’, their roadmap to delivering the renewable electricity projects required to meet our 2030 targets. Significant investment is expected during this transition, with €4 billion capital investment allocated for the period 2021-2025.