Ireland will miss its renewable energy targets because our panning system is too slow, according to Wind Energy Ireland.

The Government has set a target of generating 80% of Ireland’s energy from renewable sources by 2030 under the national Climate Action Plan.

The same plan commits us to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

There are fresh concerns about Ireland’s ability to meet those targets this morning, however, after a new KPMG report, commissioned by Wind Energy Ireland, found widespread scepticism within the energy sector.

“95% of industry experts believe that planning delays and insufficient electricity grid capacity will prevent Ireland from reaching our target of 80% renewable electricity by 2030,” Wind Energy Ireland CEO Noel Cunniffe told Newstalk Breakfast. 

Above average

In 2020, 39.1% of Ireland’s energy came from renewable sources, according to the CSO.

That figure was slightly above the EU average of 37.5% but significantly behind Austria, which generated 78.2% of its energy from renewables. 

If Ireland is to catch up fast, Mr Cunniffe believes, there needs to be planning reform. 

“It’s not that the industry is asking for less planning regulation, it’s that the industry is asking for faster decisions to be made,” he said. 

“So, if you look at the planning system that we’re experiencing here in Ireland at the moment, we’re just coming out of an energy crisis at the moment driven by our reliance on imported fossil fuels. 

“Countries right across Europe used that time to try and process more renewable energy projections… Meanwhile in Ireland, during that exact time period, we went... nearly 14 months without the launch of a single wind farm being consented to by An Bord Pleanála.” 

Opening of the new £7 million solar farm at Dunore, which will supply electricity to NI Water's Dunore Water Treatment works in South Antrim. April 2023.

Mr Cunniffe said the planning process is “much, much too slow” for Ireland to meet its 2030 target.

“We need to address these by investing in resources in the system and also by updating the local planning policies to make sure they’re taking account of our now more ambitious national renewal targets,” he said. 

Electricity Pylons silhouette against a dawn sky at Ringaskiddy, County Cork. August 2022. Image: David Creedon / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Cunniffe said there was “massive investment” in the electricity grid in the 1970s, 80s and 90s and there needs to be again in order to transport energy generated from solar and wind farms to towns and cities across Ireland. 

With so much extra demand on Ireland's power supply, supply will need to be boosted in a process known as grid reinforcement.

“The last strategy where they tried to roll out grid reinforcement across the country in the last decade, really did not get the political and public support that it needed to deliver,” he said.

“As a result, we’re literally paying the price for that in our electricity [prices].

“If we’re to decarbonise our grid; if we’re to have an energy security system where we don’t have amber alerts on our electricity grid every couple of weeks, we need to invest in power lines, we need to invest in cables, in substations.” 

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan is currently in Dubai for COP28, which describes itself as a “prime opportunity to rethink, reboot, and refocus the climate agenda”.

Main image: A wind farm.