Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
146. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department have forecasted the viability of Ireland becoming a net exporter of wind energy by 2040; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73227/25]
View answerIreland's ambition to become a clean energy exporter is reliant upon on the successful development of clean, indigenous energy production, reduced energy costs and the development of interconnectors with other countries to enable us to both import and export energy with Britain, France and others.
In the past few weeks we have seen the successful conclusion of the Tonn Nua offshore wind energy auction which will generate 900 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in the first of four sites in the South Coast DMAP area. This builds on the 3.8 gigawatts (GW) which are in the pipeline from five phase one projects in the planning system on the east coast.
Officials in my Department are continuing to work on preparations for further auctions for the remaining three sites in the South Coast DMAP, including on the development of a surveying programme to support and de-risk the auction process, as well as the development of a National DMAP which will aim to designate sufficient maritime area to deliver on our target of 20 GW of offshore renewable energy by 2040.
On interconnection, this year saw the launch of the Greenlink Interconnector, a 500 MW interconnector between Ireland and Wales, which doubles the State's total interconnection capacity to 1 GW. The 700 MW Celtic Interconnector between Ireland and France is under construction and will connect us directly with mainland Europe and the Integrated EU Energy Market when integrated to the grid in 2028. The MaresConnect project is also in development and it is anticipated that it will be commissioned by 2030. We are also exploring the feasibility of additional future connections to more countries.
As our offshore generation portfolio grows, export is envisaged to become a more important route to market for Irish electricity. Ireland’s Interconnection ambitions are well set out in the National Policy Statement on Electricity Interconnection 2023.
The policy document and supporting analysis, including details of potential benefits, are available at: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/publications/national-policy-statement-on-electricity-interconnection-2023/
