Green projects to lose out in permit round

Large numbers of green energy projects will lose out in the latest electricity supply licensing round, which regulators will start work on tomorrow.

The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) told an Oireachtas committee yesterday that it plans to license renewable projects with the capacity to produce 3,000 mega watts (MW) of electricity under the round.

However, organisations with plans to produce a total of 7,000 MW have applied for permits under the round, dubbed "gate three", which is designed to boost the amount of renewable energy used in the Republic.

Commissioner Michael Tutty told the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change and Energy yesterday that the licences would be offered on a first-come first-served basis.

"What we are proposing is to take the first 3,000MW in the order in which they applied, and were deemed to have their application completed," he said. He added that this would cover all those who applied up to the latter half of last year. Responding to criticism of the proposal from committee members, CER chairman Tom Reeves said "the scarce resource at the moment is the capacity on the network".

He pointed out that combined with existing and proposed renewable projects, the total amount of green electricity on the system will come to over 5,200 MW, which is more than current peak demand in the Republic.

Mr Tutty told the committee that 3,000MW would be more than enough to ensure that the Republic meets its commitment to generate 33 per cent of all its electricity demand from renewable energy by 2020.

The commissioners pointed out that the system needs new conventional power stations, particularly as wind energy, responsible for most renewable electricity, is intermittent and will not meet demand all the time.

Mr Tutty said that the CER is concerned that a proposed EU directive, requiring member states to give priority access to their national grids to renewable projects, will result in large amounts of wind-generated electricity coming on to the system, but with no conventional power plants to back it up. "If that happens, there will be blackouts," he warned.

Reacting to the CER's licensing proposals, industry lobby group, National Offshore Wind (NOW) Ireland, said yesterday that Irish renewable energy policy should not be limited to meeting targets.

"Ireland has the potential to take the lead in this industry, and we can exceed our targets, " a spokesman said. "We should look at this not in terms of meeting energy requirements, but in terms of generating employment opportunities."