Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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243. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the proportion of the target of 5.7TWh indigenously produced by 2030 has been achieved to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43009/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Biomethane production is still at an early stage of development in Ireland, with only two operational biomethane facilities injecting biomethane into the gas grid. The volume of biomethane injected into the grid in 2023 was small, equating to c. 60 GWh per annum, which is equivalent to 0.001% of Ireland’s current gas demand. Biomethane volumes injected into the gas network reduced by approximately 33% to 45 GWh in 2024.

Government is committed to supporting the development of a domestic biomethane industry of scale, and the Biomethane Implementation Group, chaired by my Department, continues to oversee implementation of the National Biomethane Strategy and monitor target delivery.

The Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO) Scheme will drive demand for biomethane in the heating sector and stimulate domestic production of biomethane. The Heads of Bill for the RHO were approved by Government on 15 July.

In addition, my Department is working on putting capital grants in place from 2026 to support the development of anaerobic digestion plants in Ireland.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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244. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to outline the proportion of the 2030 target for onshore wind which has been achieved energised to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43010/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government 2025 has reaffirmed Ireland’s targets of 80% of electricity demand to be met by renewable energy sources.

To date 5.13 GW of onshore wind had been energised, which is 57% of our 2030 target of 9 GW of onshore wind generation. It should be noted that renewable energy sources provided an expected 39.6% of electricity demand in 2024 according to the latest data from the SEAI.

The Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce has been established to accelerate and increase the deployment of onshore renewable electricity generation by focusing on the three key pillars of renewables development – Route to Market, Grid Development, and Planning. This cross-Government Taskforce is identifying and prioritising the required policies needed to achieve our onshore renewable electricity targets and ensuring that barriers to the implementation of these policies are removed or minimised to the greatest extent possible.

Ireland has a number of support schemes in place to increase the development of renewable electricity. The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is pivotal to the achievement of Ireland’s 2030 target. RESS consists of a series of competitive auctions, four onshore and one offshore to date, in which successful applicants are offered a two-way support arrangement for a period of approximately 15 years.

The four onshore RESS auctions held since September 2020 have been fundamental in boosting Ireland’s energy independence, with a fifth onshore auction due to take place in early September. The Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS) was also developed to offer a simpler route to market for small-scale and community projects.

The revised National Planning Framework includes regional renewable electricity capacity allocations. The inclusion of the allocations will facilitate the accelerated roll-out and delivery of onshore wind and solar development. These allocations will be integrated into Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, which will, in turn, inform city and county development plans.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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245. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the proportion of the 2030 target for offshore wind has been achieved energised to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43011/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Government is committed to the development of 5GW of offshore wind capacity, with projects in construction by 2030, and energised as soon as feasible thereafter. Ireland's 5GW target will be met through a combination of projects from Phase One and from within the South Coast DMAP. Five Phase One projects accounting for 3.8GW of capacity are progressing through the planning process with an Coimisiún Pleanála, with all five having submitted their planning applications. Furthermore, the 900MW Tonn Nua site within the South Coast DMAP will be auctioned later this year under the ORESS scheme. This will seek bids to develop the site and represents another major milestone in our offshore energy programme.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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246. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the proportion of the 2030 target for solar PV that has been achieved energised to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43012/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Solar PV is the fastest growing source of electricity in the country and is highly complementary to wind generation, providing a more stable and balanced energy supply across time. The most recent CAP has a target of 8 GW solar capacity

I am advised that for a six-day period in April 2025 solar PV generation contributed more power to the grid than wind. This is a strong indication of recent success in the deployment of solar PV on the network.

Under the Climate Action Plan 2024, the target for installed micro-generation capacity (≤ 50 kW) has been expanded to 1.6 GW by 2030. 605 MW of Microgeneration capacity has been connected to the grid by end of June 2025, the majority of which has been supported by grants provided by the SEAI under the Microgeneration Support Scheme.

Solar PV connected to Grid:

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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247. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the proportion of the 2030 target for offshore wind capacity specifically for renewable hydrogen has been achieved energised to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43013/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The National Hydrogen Strategy and the Future Framework Policy Statement for Offshore Renewable Energy both set out that 2 GW of offshore wind dedicated to the production of renewable hydrogen, along with other non-grid limited green products and services, is targeted to be in development by 2030.

My Department has conducted initial stakeholder engagement to support the scoping of this action. In summer 2024, my Department hosted a series of stakeholder workshops across Government Departments and agencies to align expectations and agree next steps. Further work is underway to advance the hydrogen sector, as set out under the National Hydrogen Strategy, which will be needed to promote the commercialisation of the sector such that routes to market are economically viable for the State and industry.

This work will be further developed under the new National Hydrogen Programme Taskforce.