Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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91.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the breakdown of the percentage of renewable electricity that was generated from renewable fuel sources; the percentage of renewable electricity that was generated from fossil fuel sources; the breakdown of imported electricity, by fuel source, in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34355/24]

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. Over the last ten years, Ireland’s wind energy output has increased by 157%.

DECC do not hold information on the breakdown of the percentage of renewable electricity. Data regarding Ireland's electricity generation is available to view on the SEAI website: www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/

The table below sets out a breakdown of fuel sources provided from SEAI:

The data for 2024-to-date is not currently available in the same level of detail, however indicative data published by the SEAI this month shows that emissions from the electricity sector in the first half of 2024 were down 17.2% with almost half of utility scale generation being renewable and interconnector imports in the first half of 2024 accounting for 14.4% of Ireland's utility scale electricity supply.

SEAI do not hold data on the breakdown of electricity imports by source which is driven by the generation technology mix and market conditions in the relevant interconnected jurisdictions.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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92.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress made to date in the delivery of action one of the national hydrogen strategy, to develop and publish data sets showing the likely locations, volumes, and load profile of surplus renewables on our electricity grid out to 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34537/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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93.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress made to date in the delivery of action two of the national hydrogen strategy, to establish an early hydrogen innovation fund to provide co-funding supports for demonstration projects across the hydrogen value chain; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34538/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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94.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress made to date in the delivery of action three of the national hydrogen strategy, to adopt EU standards for renewable and low carbon hydrogen and develop a national certification scheme to provide clarity to end users as to the origin and sustainability of their hydrogen; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34539/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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95.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress made to date in the delivery of action four of the national hydrogen strategy, to develop the commercial business models to support the scale up and development of renewable hydrogen, targeting surplus renewable grid electricity pre-2030 and an initial 2 GW of offshore wind from 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34540/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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96.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress made to date in the delivery of action five of the national hydrogen strategy, to develop a roadmap to bring net zero dispatchable power solutions to market by 2030, to support the delivery of a near net zero power system by 2035; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34541/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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97.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress made to date in the delivery of action six of the national hydrogen strategy, to undertake further work to assess the role that integrated energy parks could play in our future energy system, including their potential benefits and the possible barriers that may exist; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34542/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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98.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress made to date in the delivery of action seven of the national hydrogen strategy, to publish the draft national policy framework on alternative fuels infrastructure, and support the roll-out of hydrogen powered heavy duty vehicles and refuelling infrastructure in line with EU requirements set out in the recast Renewable Energy Directive and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34543/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 to 98, inclusive, together.

The National Hydrogen Strategy was published in July 2023 and is our first major policy statement on renewable hydrogen and marks an important first step in developing an indigenous hydrogen industry in Ireland. The Strategy sets out sets out our strategic vision for the role that hydrogen will play in Ireland’s energy system and as a key component of our zero-carbon economy. There have been 21 actions set out within the Strategy to enable the development of the hydrogen sector in Ireland. These actions aim to remove barriers to early hydrogen project developments and to enhance our knowledge through targeted research and innovation across the hydrogen value chain, laying the groundwork to deliver on our long-term strategic vision. These actions have varying timelines for completion spanning from 2024 to 2030. A key action for this year, as set out in the Climate Action Plan 2024, is to develop a detailed implementation plan for the multi-year work programme set out in the Strategy and ensure appropriate governance arrangements are in place to support delivery of the actions set out within the strategy. The timeline for completion of this plan is now estimated to be Q4 2024. Once completed, further clarity on the status of all actions set out within the strategy and the annual work programmes to deliver on these will be communicated.

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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102.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to a case (details supplied); if there are plans in place to provide funding for community organisations to purchase portable solar generators; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34683/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Non-Domestic Microgen grant, as part of the wider Microgeneration Support Scheme, commenced in September 2022. The grant is operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and provides financial assistance to help businesses and other organisations to install solar PV panels to generate electricity on site. The scheme provides a grant towards the design, purchase and installation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system for a non-domestic building, based on having a registered MPRN for the premises.

Detailed information regarding eligibility for the non-domestic Microgen scheme is available on the SEAI website: www.seai.ie/

However, it should be noted that as with all SEAI energy grant schemes, eligible technologies/solutions are informed by a number of factors, including ready availability of such solutions and installers in the market, scale of savings achievable, costs to the business/homeowner and typical payback; as well as programme budget availability targeting areas where greatest national impact is likely to be achieved.

Consequently, portable solar generators are not currently eligible for the receipt of grant funding, through any existing SEAI energy grant scheme.

Under the new EU amending directive 2024/1711, which focuses on improving the Union’s electricity market design; there will be the option for Member States to consider if they wish to promote the introduction of plug-in mini-solar systems of up to 800 W capacity in and on buildings. Ireland is currently assessing the impact of the Directive and may opt to issue a consultation on some of the flexibilities that are contained within, in order to ascertain the views of the public and interested stakeholders.