O'Rourke says energy capacity to rise 20%

The Minister for Public Enterprise Ms O'Rourke has said Ireland's electricity generating capacity will grow by 20 per cent next year.

The Minister said new generating plants in Dublin would add over 700 megawatts of capacity - the equivalent of supplying 700,000 homes. There were 57,000 new connections made last year to the grid.

The ESB/Statoil plant in Ringsend and the Viridian plant in Huntstown in Dublin will be switched on next year, leaving the State's generating capacity well in excess of demand, Ms O'Rourke told the Energy Ireland Conference in Dublin today.

"The new capacity allied to the major upgrading and expansion of the transmission network will leave Ireland well positioned to handle continued growth in demand," she said.

Ms O'Rourke told the conference demand for gas was growing at an unprecedented level due to economic growth and the opening of the electricity market to competition. A new gas connection with Scotland will be operating by next winter.

The Minister said about 75 per cent of the gas market was open to competition and will be fully open by 2005. By this time 12 per cent of electricity produced in Ireland should come from renewable energy sources such as wind energy, she said.