Minister for Energy, Pat Rabbitte T.D. outlined a range of considerations for renewable energy policy as we move towards an integrated European Energy Market in coming years.

The Minister was speaking at a Conference in Dublin also attended by UK Energy Minister, Charles Hendry M.P.

Stressing that Ireland is fully committed to achieving its EU and international climate change targets. Minister Rabbitte stated: "The energy sector will play a key role in underpinning this by delivering on our renewable energy and energy efficiency targets."

The Minister noted that the International Energy Agency published its 2011 World Energy Outlook last week. The report makes it clear that despite uncertainty over the prospects for short term economic growth, global demand for energy is set to grow exponentially over the next 25 years and the much needed changes in energy policy direction are not visible enough. Global primary energy demand increased by 5% in 2010 alone, pushing global carbon emissions to a new high.

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Commenting on progress so far, Minister Rabbitte said: "Ireland's deployment of renewable energy sources in electricity has been increasing steadily in recent years as we work, North and South, to deliver a 40% level of renewable electricity consumption by 2020. There has been good progress going from 5% renewable electricity in 2005 to around 15% renewable electricity this year. I am satisfied that we can build out the necessary renewable generation capacity to meet our domestic requirements. But we do need to work together to overcome the barriers which include community acceptance of network development and sometimes of wind projects themselves and to ensure predictable and transparent support frameworks to attract investors. The challenge and opportunity is to steadily increase renewable electricity generation year on year towards 2020 but also to go much further and move on to develop a renewable electricity export market."

Minister Rabbitte stated that he would be having discussions with Minister Hendry during his visit to Dublin with a view to preparing a formal inter governmental agreement on renewable energy trading. "With some of the best wind and wave resources in Europe if not the world, the natural resources are clearly available in Ireland and the UK, but we need to work together to ensure that they can be harvested and developed in such a way that will bring national benefits to both of our economies. Increasing the deployment of renewable technologies in Ireland offers industrial opportunities to our companies, not only in traditional manufacturing and construction sectors but also in the ICT, financial, insurance and legal sectors. There are opportunities for ports to develop new businesses and for deployment and support companies to develop."

(CD)