Investment in wind energy essential - report

THE GOVERNMENT needs to invest up to €700 million over the next 18 months to begin meeting its targets for renewable and secure energy, it was conceded yesterday.

Launching a new report on investment in the wind energy sector, Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said that investment in the national electricity grid was essential if Ireland was to achieve a potential investment of almost €15 billion from the wind energy industry over the next decade.

He said the total investment in the grid would reach €4 billion by 2025. Yet the upgrade would need to attract other investment that would create up to 10,000 jobs in construction and smart technologies over 10 years.

He said the upgrade would also result in an annual saving on fossil fuels of €1 billion for the State from 2020. An added benefit would be the reduction of electricity prices for the consumer.

Mr Ryan also stressed that grid investment would result in Ireland being energy secure.

Pressed on how much the State needed to invest in the grid this year, Mr Ryan said the strategy should be considered in the light of potential savings. “We know the price of wind is not going to change between now and 2020 from its current level of zero.”

However, he conceded much of the €4 billion would have to be over the coming years if certainty was to be offered to investors in the wind industry.

He drew attention to the study, by economic consultants Deloitte on behalf of the Irish Wind Energy Association, which envisaged that installed wind energy capacity would need to reach 7,800MW to meet all-Ireland renewable energy targets by 2020. The current level of renewables on the island is estimated at less than 1,500MW, 1,077MW of which is in the Republic. The Deloitte report also identified opportunities in pump-storage stations, energy exports through the north-south and east-west electricity interconnectors and through electric transport.

Construction provided the majority of jobs, with ongoing needs to replace many of the estimated 4,000 turbines over time.

The Minister said proposed changes to the planning Acts would facilitate the development of additional wind farms. He added that “already, 12 per cent of our electricity is derived from renewables, with over 1,000MW of wind connected . . . It’s clear that Ireland can and will be an international leader in wind energy.”

Also stressing the need to upgrade the grid was Dr Michael Walsh, chief executive of the Irish Wind Energy Association. He warned that “many projects will not be delivered if developers cannot be given guarantees that the grid will be delivered to their project on time”.

“The economic benefits highlighted by the report are welcome news for all stakeholders but the report has highlighted a number of challenges we need to overcome to maximise this opportunity.

“The timely delivery of national grid upgrades is essential to developing the sector and jobs growth. Wind farm developers cannot continue to take on the third-party risk that the grid may not be delivered to their project on time, and need to be made financially neutral to this outcome.”