Wind industry ‘losing investor appeal’

A LACK of cost-competitiveness coupled with inadequate supports mean Ireland’s burgeoning wind industry is losing appeal to international investors, a major wind energy conference has been told.

Leading industry figures said investors cannot make the returns here that they can make in other countries as the cost base is too high.

They warned that the ambitious target of having 40% of our energy needs from renewables by 2020 will not be met, unless a national renewable energy action plan is put into place.

The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) estimates that up to €14.7 billion could be invested by the sector in this country over the next 10 years.

At present Ireland accounts for just 2% of European wind installation and is ranked ninth across Europe even though the country has some of the world’s best wind resources.

The SSE Group is Ireland’s and Britain’s leading renewable energy developer and owns Dublin-based companies SSE Renewables and Airtricity.

Its financial director, Gregor Alexander, said the Irish market is littered with impediments and that these must be addressed if we are to achieve our full wind potential “Increasingly, we as a company are being forced to turn down investment opportunities in Ireland as the returns do not come close to what we can achieve in other European markets, including those with lesser wind resources.

“Given the ambitious targets rightly set by Ireland for renewable energy by 2020, this is a very serious development,” he said.

IWEA chairman Stephen Wheeler said 2010 is a critical year when planners, those involved in grid rollout and market arrangement must ensure that they are working in collaboration.