Renewable NI has welcomed the return of the NI Assembly saying that the new Executive must accelerate the deployment of renewables.

Accelerating the adoption of renewable energy is said by Renewable NI to lower electricity prices, promote green economic growth, and decrease carbon emissions.

Speaking after the announcement of the NI Assembly return, Steven Agnew, RenewableNI Director, said:

"Design of a new renewable support scheme for NI is imminent, legislation for this will need to pass through the assembly at pace. This should be an early announcement for Conor Murphy MLA as new Economy Minister. NI is already 10years behind our neighbours, we have gone from leaders to laggards.

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"We need political leadership to inject urgency into our planning system and hope John O’Dowd MLA as new Infrastructure Minister will drive this. Developers are being put off investing here due to excessive timelines. $350 billion of capital has poured into renewable infrastructure investment around the world in the first half of 2023 – the Northern Ireland economy is currently missing out.

"RenewableNI continued to engage with policymakers in the absence of any Assembly, and we thank them for their work. Together with our members we have progressed and raised suggestions that will resolve many of the obstacles. It’s now time for the politicians to fast track these solutions.

"We look forward to the appointment of the new Climate Commissioner (as set out in the Climate Act) and will be advocating for the creation of an accelerating renewables taskforce.

"The energy transition represents a huge opportunity for Northern Ireland. It’s time to grasp it."