Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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192. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which his Department continues to explore electricity generation from non-fossil fuels by way of wind, wave or solar; the full extent of the investment to date in each element of the sector; the degree to which he expects such investment to materialise in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20161/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland has made considerable progress in decarbonising our electricity sector over the last decade, with a major reason for this being the construction of renewable generation sources and their successful integration onto the electricity grid. Ireland is in the top five globally for installed wind power capacity per capita and is a world leader in the integration of variable renewable electricity onto the grid.

The recent Climate Action Plan Update, CAP 23, commits Ireland to achieving 80% of electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030 and to reach between 22 GW and 24 GW of installed renewable electricity generation capacity by 2030.

This will require hitherto unseen 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 in 2023 already (to end March).

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.