Transitioning to a renewables led power system is central to the Programme for Government plan to meeting Ireland's energy security, climate action and energy affordability objectives. Ireland has added 5 GW of new renewable electricity generation over the last decade, with 8GW now operating, as well as ending electricity generation from both peat and coal. We are on course to more than half our electricity system emissions, with emissions projected to reduce by between 54% and 61% by 2030.
Reducing emissions in the electricity sector is being undertaken while meeting the increased electricity demand required for our economy and broader enterprise strategy, ensuring the energy security of the State, and supporting those sectors which are decarbonising through electrification. The latest projections for the electricity sector reflect this increased electricity demand, as well as changes to expected delivery dates for the Celtic Interconnector and offshore wind projects.
It is clear we must focus on increasing and accelerating the deployment of onshore renewables in the short- to medium-term and that is what we are doing. Three cross-Government taskforces, the Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce (ARET) for onshore renewables, the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce (OWDT), and the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce continue to develop effective policies designed to deliver an accelerated and increased level of renewable generation capacity and related infrastructure, including strengthening the electricity grid and increasing electricity storage.
The holding of annual RESS auctions ensures a steady stream of onshore renewable projects, with RESS 6 due to be held later this year. Government also remains committed to having 5GW of offshore wind capacity in development by 2030, with a longer-range target of 20GW by 2040. Five projects, with a combined capacity of 3.8GW, are currently in development off our East Coast. The first South Coast DMAP project saw 900 MW awarded through an Offshore RESS auction last year. A second SC-DMAP auction, with a potential capacity of 1.5 GW, is expected to be held in 2027.
The €18.9 billion investment in the electricity grid set out in PR6 and the actions included in the Electricity Storage Policy Framework will strengthen and increase the flexibility of our grid, allowing us to maximise the output of our renewables. The Planning and Development Act 2024 introduced significant planning reform which will aid in the accelerated rollout of renewable electricity and storage projects. The inclusion of regional electricity capacity allocations in the revised NPF ensures national targets are reflected at regional and local authority levels.
