Roderic O'Gorman: Stop wasting Ireland's renewable power

Deputy Roderick O'Gorman. Taoiseach, in April of this year 46% of our country's electricity came from wind and a further 7% from solar. 53% of our electricity, 1,300 gigawatt hours of clean renewable electricity in a single month. But a key problem with our electricity system in Ireland is that we don't have the energy storage capacity to take full advantage of renewable energy when those conditions are right. So when new renewable producers are directed to create less energy than they actually have capacity to generate. So the system uses technical language like curtailment or dispatch down for this. But there's a simpler word, waste. In the middle of a worldwide energy crisis with electricity bills shooting up for Irish households renewable energy is being wasted at scale. According to Airgrid 18% of wind energy was wasted in April 2026 alone. And that's why we need more energy storage in Ireland. The concept is simple, battery storage captures renewable electricity when wind and solar production is high and releases it back into our grid when the demand is high. And a significant number of battery storage systems have been granted planning permission here in Ireland but the key barrier that was set out to us by Energy Storage Ireland when they presented in the AV room recently, the key barrier is a route to market access. The last government published the electricity storage policy framework in July 2024, almost two years ago, and it had ten actions. Action seven required your government to set a long-term target for the amount of battery storage that Ireland needs to give an indication to the industry of how much battery storage is anticipated. Action nine requires the creation of a market framework to incentivize energy storage technologies. Just like wind and solar electricity have the renewable energy support scheme, energy storage needs a similar financial certainty to incentivize its development. So two years after the publication of that framework these two actions haven't been achieved and because of that millions of euro of renewable energy, renewable electricity is being squandered. And Taoiseach, the problem here it's not judicial reviews, it's not gold-plated environmental regulations, it isn't the Climate Action Act. The problem is the failure of your government to prioritize the detailed policy work that's needed to ensure that this technology can work for Irish consumers and for the Irish economy. So Taoiseach, can you commit that by the end of this year your government will set a clear target for long-term energy storage needs in Ireland? And will you also commit that by mid-2027 you'll have put in place a renewable energy support scheme for battery storage so this waste of renewable electricity will come to an end? Well first of all I think what you outlined in the beginning is true in terms of the fact that we are making very very significant progress in terms of renewable energy in this country. I think we've reached a record circa 4.8 gigawatts of renewable energy generation capacity, which is actually up from 4.8 gigawatts in 2020. And onshore wind now is providing very significant levels of power and last year we hit the important milestone of 5 gigawatts of installed onshore wind capacity and we've reached a milestone of 2 gigawatts of installed solar capacity last November. And so we are, and in terms of solar generated electricity, in April we reached a peak of 1 gigawatt on the grid. That's enough to power around half a million people. And so solar generation went from zero to replace coal as the third highest source of indigenous generation in less than a decade. And these are the progress that we're making. There are about 1.91 gigawatts of electricity storage systems with planning permission and connection contracts pending fulfillment with AirGrid as of last December. And as you know we're pursuing offshore wind capacity and when we develop that and particularly in terms of the auctions that were concluded over the last two years, if we can get those developed then we will be in a very significant position in terms of renewables powering the majority of electricity. In terms of the storage issue more generally, we will commit to setting a target in terms of an incentive scheme or grants as you've outlined. Again I'll revert to the Minister in respect of that. And again that's something that will be assessed. More broadly though I think the technology is improving all of the time. There's a significant degree of private sector investment in the storage area also. And I've witnessed some of this in some of the openings we've been at. And I think for example in the Midlands in particular we will see further developments in that regard. But we have made a lot of progress, Deputy. I think we can make more progress. When you say it's wasted and so on, it is an issue of technology and technology catching up in terms of that storage area. And that's been an evolving story for the last number of years. And it's not quite there yet, but it's making huge progress. And we will do everything we can to support it. With respect Taoiseach, while you're right it is an issue of technology, the solution is there. The solution is there in terms of battery storage. And we don't have enough of it. And what the industry are telling all members of the Oireachtas from opposition and government when they are in with us, that the two key barriers to them is that lack of a national target for how much government thinks in terms of energy support that is needed. And that support system to help them deliver it. Because you're right, planning permission has been granted for plenty of battery storage units around the country. But they won't get the financing if they don't see that there's a clear route to market access. And the companies who are looking to set up here, they're mobile. They can support it in Germany. They can support it in other European countries. The countries that actually have put in the work to put in those support frameworks to make it financially viable. So what is needed here is focus on getting through the policy blockages that exist. And that can actually ensure that this technology that is available can deliver lower price energy for Irish consumers. The Minister is pursuing these issues, as you know, across the board. And we certainly will engage in respect of a support system. But when any industry comes looking for a support system, I think it is reasonable also that the government approaches that in terms of value for money and in terms of representing the taxpayer. And to make sure we do it properly and we do it right. But I will engage with the Minister in respect of the issues that you raised now. And we'll revert back to you.