MINISTER FOR Energy Pat Rabbitte has pledged that long-promised tariff supports for offshore wind energy will be brought to Government before Christmas.
Mr Rabbitte made the commitment as he and his British counterpart Charles Hendry outlined the potential for Anglo-Irish co-operation on renewables in Dublin yesterday. They were both addressing the National Offshore Wind Association annual conference which discussed the need for greater State support to ensure Ireland can be a “green energy exporter”.
Association secretary Brian Britton welcomed as “significant progress” Mr Rabbitte’s pledge to bring the offshore renewable energy feed-in tariff to Government in the next month. The tariff is the primary method of market support for electricity from renewable sources. It requires European Commission approval and is funded through the public service obligation charged to all electricity customers.
It was announced for the offshore sector in 2008, but not implemented, and the lobby has argued that it is “essential” to “jump start” an industry which has the potential to replace €6 billion in imported fossil fuels used for electricity generation.
Mr Rabbitte acknowledged yesterday that the cost of such market supports offshore was far greater than onshore. However, Mr Britton has said that export of wind energy can contribute to Ireland’s economic recovery, and there would be no cost to the consumer before 2016.
Ireland is “fully committed” to achieving its EU and international climate change targets, Mr Rabbitte told the conference.
“Ireland’s deployment of renewable energy sources in electricity has been increasing steadily in recent years,” he said, as authorities North and South aim to deliver 40 per cent of energy consumption from renewables by 2020. He said there had been “good progress” in progressing from 5 per cent renewable electricity in 2005 to around 15 per cent this year.
The Minister said he was satisfied the State could build out the necessary renewable generation capacity to meet domestic requirements. However, he said “we do need to work together to overcome the barriers which include community acceptance of network development and sometimes of wind projects themselves, and to ensure predictable and transparent support frameworks to attract investors”.
A formal intergovernmental agreement between Ireland and Britain on renewable energy trading is being drawn up, which Mr Rabbitte and Mr Hendry discussed yesterday.
Mr Hendry said Eirgrid’s construction of the new east-west interconnector represented a “very tangible step forward” in co-operation between the two islands. “We hope our open and competitive energy market will make it possible for Irish companies to increase their market presence there in the future,” he said.
Britain’s wind resources are most concentrated in Scotland, but it views opportunities in Ireland to meet its target of 15 per cent of all energy from renewables by 2020.
European Commission Irish representation head Barbara Nolan told the conference that a number of EU member states will exceed their renewable targets by 2020, but the commission would take legal action, if necessary, where targets were not met.
