Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 October 2025
39. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if a policy has been developed for the inspection of internal networks and collector cables referenced in the Private Wires Policy statement. [53491/25]
View answerIn July of this year, my Department published a Private Wires Policy Statement. The Policy Statement was developed following a public consultation process held in 2023 and extensive stakeholder engagement over the past two years. The policy clarifies the need for legislative reform pertaining to Private Wires in four specific circumstances. In addition, the Policy Statement addresses internal networks of renewable electricity projects.
The consultation process on Private Wires highlighted that wind and solar farms often have extensive networks of cables to collect generated electricity from individual wind turbines or panels and bring them to a central point where the farm connects to the national grid. There are no publicly adopted standards or mechanisms to inspect such networks.
My Department is working closely with stakeholders to develop the necessary Private Wires legislation and the issue of internal networks is part of that work.
