Mayo to lose out if wind farm move is not reversed ^Featured

Deputy Mulherin voiced her serious concerns to the Minister for Communications,Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, TD in the Dail .
 
Deputy Mulherin has called on the SEMC to urgently revisit its decision, which states that when too much energy from wind is being generated for the national electricity grid, wind farms in areas with good infrastructure can continue to produce energy at full volume, whereas those with poor grid must curtail their production.

  “I have already been contacted by wind farm developers in Mayo who have planning permission and grid offers, but who will get no finance from a bank or investor on account of the grandfathering of curtailment, Deputy Mulherin told a Dail debate on the issue.
 
“This decision by the Single Electricity Market Committee will have a detrimental effect on the development of new wind farms in Mayo.
 
“Basically, they won't be able to proceed as they won't be able to secure finance. At the moment, there are 650mws of wind farms in the pipeline under the Gate 3 process,” Deputy Mulherin said.
 
“In my county, there is a community wind farm project, rather than one associated with big industry, yet the developers are being told they will not receive finance. We need to remember that if we are to develop our wind energy potential, we will require significant interest and investment from the private sector.

Cost to taxpayer
 
“This would result in a loss to the county of hundreds of millions alone in the next few years. In effect, these wind farms will carry the entire financial burden of curtailment which is unfair to say the least as it favours mainly existing wind farms.
 
“In Mayo, developing the 650 MW offered through Gate 3 would see an investment of €1.1 billion. Analysis has shown there is not enough firm access for the capacity of wind generation required to meet the 2020 targets.

On this basis, the Committee’s decision will stop the wind industry building sufficient capacity to meet our targets. If that happens the Government will have to buy renewable credits from other Member States, all at a cost to the taxpayer.
 
 
“This will have a crippling effect on the development at all of new wind farms in these areas which immediately become financially unviable from the point of view of investors and banks which would ordinarily fund these projects.
 
“In effect, people are being punished because they are trying to develop in areas in which the last Government and EirGrid failed to develop infrastructure. “They have a real appetite to develop wind farms. Therefore, we should not support the decision of the SEM Committee, which would choke the financial viability of new wind farm projects.

“There over 500 MW of investor-ready wind farm projects in counties Mayo, Galway, Leitrim, Donegal, Clare, Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Tipperary and Cavan that will be affected negatively by the decision.
 
“Another big concern with this decision is that the west of Ireland has the best wind resource in Europe, but very poor infrastructural access to the grid. This means that those hoping to invest in the west may be deterred from doing so due to the prospect of the lessening of income as would come about with the grandfathering of curtailment decision,” Deputy Mulherin added.
 
Deputy Mulherin has addressed the Joint  Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture, which has now agreed to invite before  the Committee; the Commissioner for Energy Regulation, and other wind industry stakeholders, to discuss the potential fallout from the decision should it remain.

Also Deputy Mulherin welcomed confirmation from the Minister that he has now instructed the Energy Regulator, SEAI and Eirgrid to report to him with an assessment of the ramifications of the decision.