Irish renewables funding in doubt past 2020

• 10 years ago (2014-02-04)
• Junior Isles

Europe 1089 Renewables 776

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Ireland’s funding for renewable energy schemes will be scaled back from ‘elevated levels’ once EU targets are met, according to influential stockbrokers Davy Group.

Government backing for renewable energy is partly based on the prospect of EU fines of at least €150 million if authorities fail to ensure that 16 per cent of all Irish energy across the power, heat and transport sectors is from renewable sources by 2020.

"Irish financial supports are likely to be curtailed once the threat of financial sanctions from Europe is overcome," Davy has said.

"It is clear that the current financial supports cannot be kept at elevated levels indefinitely, so it is likely that once the EU targets have been met, the explicit supports for wind projects are likely to be materially lower."

Ireland’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan aims to reach the EU’s 2020 16 per cent renewables figure by ensuring 40 per cent of overall electricity consumption is sourced from renewables, including 12 per cent of consumption in the heat sector and 10 per cent of consumption in the transport sector.

One renewables support mechanism likely to be cut is the ‘Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff' (REFIT), which is the primary funding scheme supporting Irish renewables.

The original REFIT scheme was launched in 2007, with the REFIT 2 and REFIT 3 schemes, covering onshore wind, small hydro, landfill gas facilities and biomass following in 2012.

Davy has stated that it is in the Irish Government's interest to reach renewables targets as soon as possible, since Ireland has been referred to the European Court of Justice this month for failing to meet its intermediate targets, potentially leading to fines of €25 000 a day.

Davy further stated that they expected the EU’s 2020 targets to be superseded by stronger 27 per cent renewables targets in the future, though without the current binding obligations on member states.