Minister is blowing in the wind
In this article the minister was more concerned with trading political insults than confronting the major issues which were highlighted at the Fine Gael Renewable Energy Discussion Forum last week.
It seems that the minister is unable to take on board constructive criticism and genuine concerns from interested parties whose opinions were articulated in a comprehensive article by Michael O’Farrell in the Irish Examiner on Tuesday last.
The factual statistics show that, to date, only 145MW of renewable energy projects have been built in Ireland. This dismal figure reflects poorly on consecutive energy ministers in recent times.
The Government’s latest renewable energy scheme, AER VI, is fundamentally flawed in a number of areas.
Although it does represent an improvement on AER V, it is not the ambitious promotional scheme that Ireland needs to stimulate substantial investment in renewables.
The minister has set a target of creating 500MW of new renewable energy generation by 2005, through giving out a limited number of price support contracts, largely for wind energy projects.
However, with only 500MW of contracts being given out at the lowest support price in Europe, this is surely unrealistic. The minister is deluding himself if he expects 100% success in the construction of projects by developers who are granted AER6 contracts. The evidence from previous AER schemes is proof of this.
If Mr Ahern is serious about creating 500MW of renewable energy he surely must begin by increasing the price support figure and by giving out at least 750MW of contracts, anticipating that some contracts will never result in completed projects.
Our Government’s failings are particularly disappointing when other EU countries have shown the way.
It is time for Ireland to learn from the success of others in promoting renewable energy and implement similar policies here on an island that’s so rich in renewable natural resources with so much potential.
Simon Coveney, TD,
Fine Gael Spokesperson on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources,
Dáil Eireann,
Dublin 2.
