Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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130. 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 in each element of the sector to date; the degree to which he expects such investment to materialise on an annual basis over the next two years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27810/24]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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131. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which he expects to rely on onshore and offshore wind-generated electricity over the next ten years; the extent to which he expects to meet overall targets in respect of alternative energy production throughout the period in question; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27811/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 131 together.

The Climate Action Plan 2024 seeks to transform Ireland into an international leader in the development and generation of high-quality renewable energy. The Plan includes a series of measures to support our renewables programme, including the accelerated delivery of onshore wind, solar, and offshore wind generation, to reach 80% of electricity demand being met by renewable sources by 2030 and beyond. The 2030 energy targets for renewable electricity include:

• 9 GW of onshore wind,

• 8 GW of solar, and

• At least 5 GW of offshore wind.

Ireland has made considerable progress in decarbonising our electricity sector and currently has over 6 GW of renewable generation. This is split between over 4.8 GW of onshore wind, over 1 GW of solar (over 400 MW of rooftop domestic and circa 645 MW of grid-scale), and the remainder coming from hydro, biomass, and other small sources of renewable generation. It is expected that there will be further strong progress in 2024 and 2025 in the deployment of wind and solar generation.

An Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce has been established to accelerate the deployment of onshore renewable generation by focusing on the three key pillars of renewables development – Route to Market, Grid Development and Planning.

To facilitate the accelerated roll-out and implementation of renewable electricity infrastructure for onshore wind and solar generation and to achieve the national targets set out in the CAP, regional renewable electricity targets will be included in the upcoming revision of the National Planning Framework.