Government U-turn ‘puts 80% of offshore wind projects at risk’

More than 80 per cent of the offshore wind projects in the planning pipeline are at risk following a Government policy U-turn that has left developers “angry and frustrated”, the Sunday Business Post has learned.

The move has been described as a “major shock” by industry sources, who claim it seriously threatens the Government’s own targets to increase offshore wind capacity by 2030.

The U-turn came to light when officials from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) told a recent industry conference that developers would no longer be able to choose their own sites for offshore projects.

The Government has set a target of 5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind capacity to be installed by 2030 as part of energy security and climate plans, and has described increasing wind energy in Ireland as a key policy.

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the “future is offshore”, while Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, has said such projects are key “to decarbonising our energy supply and securing energy independence”.

However, industry sources have said the recent policy change will damage efforts to secure investment in the sector.

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EirGrid and road authority face off over plan for cables under roads

A dispute has broken out between EirGrid and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) over proposals to lay new electricity cables under the road network, the Sunday Business Post reports.

The disagreement, which threatens to derail Ireland’s electricity climate targets and energy security, is over proposals by EirGrid, the grid operator, to use parts of the existing road network to lay high-voltage underground cables.

EirGrid claims this infrastructure is essential to deal with growing power demand.

Vit Hit health drinks top €20m revenue mark as it begins Australian production

Revenue at Irish drinks firm Vit Hit pushed past €20 million last year as it increased its foothold in a number of key overseas markets, a report in the Sunday Independent tells us.

The news comes as the company prepares to begin production of the drink in Australia for the first time, to cater for an upsurge of sales and save on freight costs

Revenue grew by 40 per cent last year, and Vit Hit chairman and founder Gary Lavin expects to see growth of 30-40 per cent this year. He says he expects to have revenues approaching €50 million within three years.

Irish banks boosted by being slow to pass on rising rates to savers

Irish banks are enjoying a financial boost from being slower than most of their European peers at passing on rising interest rates to savers, according to a new report by Credit Suisse which highlights how KBC and Ulster Bank’s exits will benefit the two main pillar banks, according to the Sunday Independent.

The Swiss investment bank’s report on Dublin-listed AIB and Bank of Ireland predicted their share prices would outperform the sector.