Planning delays hitting green energy projects and efforts to meet emissions targets, says Ryan

Planning delays are hitting green energy projects and hampering State efforts to meet tough emissions targets, Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan said on Wednesday.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) became the latest in a series of industry figures, lobbyists and agencies to warn that the Republic would struggle to cut carbon emissions by 42 per cent over seven years.

Mr Ryan admitted that the Republic would have to scale up radically if it were to meet the EU-mandated greenhouse gas reduction target. “There are signs of real progress, but the planning system is holding us back,” he said.

The Minister added that the current system was “not fit for anyone’s purpose”, arguing that it was costly, slow and uncertain.

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Mr Ryan pointed out that the Government’s Planning and Development Bill, due for publication next week, aimed to repair many of the system’s flaws.

In the meantime, he noted that the Government had earmarked extra cash for An Bord Pleanála in Budget 2024. Mr Ryan said this would ensure the planning board had the resources it needed to deal with rapidly mounting applications from the energy and other industries.

Earlier, the SEAI warned that at the current pace of development, it was uncertain that the State would achieve its Climate Action Plan targets, which include generating 80 per cent of electricity from renewable resources.

William Walsh, SEAI chief executive, said “fast-tracking of all actions” could make a really significant impact. “Realistically, at this stage, further new measures are required,” Mr Walsh said, adding that these should combine with accelerating existing and planned steps to comply with the Republic’s legally-binding carbon limits.

Speaking after he addressed the Committee on Transport and Communications, Mr Ryan said the State was making progress on many fronts, including the expansion and take-up of public transport and retrofitting of homes to boost insulation and cut their energy use.

Mr Walsh said that the Republic had made record progress since enacting the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, 2021. “Home energy upgrade activity is running at 150 per cent ahead of the same time last year. Electric vehicles continue to grow in popularity, with the market share at a new high of 18.5 per cent,” he said.

“Unfortunately though, our projections analysis indicates that the current progress is not sufficient to keep within our legally binding carbon budgets.”

Industry watchdog the Commission for Regulation of Utilities warned this week that likely increases in electricity demand “challenged” the State’s ability to meet its emissions targets. The commission’s report followed a survey by accountants PwC naming the Republic as one of several countries likely to find meeting its targets difficult.

Industry organisations including Wind Energy Ireland and Irish Solar Energy Association recently warned that planning delays and rising costs were forcing renewable developers to stall projects.

The problems are blamed for a poor response to the latest Renewable Energy Support Scheme auction, which signed up 70 per cent fewer generators than originally hoped for when it was completed in September.