Wind energy sector ‘stifled’

RED tape and uncertainty are costing jobs in the wind energy sector as investment dropped by 58% in 2010.

An over-complicated bureaucracy was cited as one of the major obstacles hampering the creation of a potential 10,000 jobs at the Irish Wind Energy Association’s annual conference yesterday.

IWEA chief executive Michael Walsh said: “The absence of a co-ordinated and cohesive system for facilitating the delivery of required installations to meet our 2020 targets is resulting in an unstable market for investment.

“Such is the instability that last year we saw a 58% drop of €265 million in the level of investment in the wind sector in Ireland.

“Investors are lined up and ready to go but the framework for investment is simply too volatile and there is no overall co-ordination of the consents needed to make an investment in renewable energy in Ireland.”

Investors are being asked to make substantial financial commitments in advance of clarity on the regulations that will apply in the future, Mr Walsh said.

IWEA has spoken with a number of national and international banks agreeable to funding renewable projects in Ireland but who are increasingly concerned about the ever-changing policy framework, he said.

“We need to provide these investors with a clear set of rules that they can analyse to bring efficient investments to Ireland,” he said. The absence of “a joined-up approach” has resulted in substantial swings in the volume of activity in the sector with 250MW of wind installed in 2006 dropping to just 50MW in 2007.

In 2009, the sector saw 230MW installed — a figure reduced to 115MW in 2010. “The real shame is that this volatility makes it more difficult for local companies to capitalise on what should be a thriving sector,” said Mr Walsh.

Ireland needs to install over 300MW per year for the next nine years to deliver on its 2020 targets of 40% of electricity from renewable energy sources.

A recent Deloitte report indicated the sector could create over 10,000 jobs, but warned consistent delivery would be necessary.

Mr Walsh said the appointment by Pat Rabbitte of an ‘Energy Tsar’ to co-ordinate energy and enterprise policy would be a crucial first step.