State 'must have thermal electricity by 2009'

The State must have a new thermal electricity generation plant in place by the winter of 2009 or there will not be adequate electricity supply for the country, the Commissioner for Energy Regulation (CER) warned yesterday.

Commissioner Michael Tutty told the Irish Wind Energy Association conference in Ennistymon, Co Clare, yesterday that, while there was up to 598MW capacity for wind generated power, it was a variable resource.

"The recent night that almost blew the Ryder Cup away, more than 500MW of energy through wind was being produced at one time," he told delegates.

However, he added: "I have also seen figures of 11MW being generated through wind at other times.

"Wind is good, but it is variable and we do need back up," he said, warning that "if we don't have more thermal plant in place by winter 2009, your lights will not be going on all the time".

The Government is due to publish a Green Paper on the future of renewable energy tomorrow.

Mr Tutty said the question of a gas-powered thermal plant was "a thorny one", but said: "We do have to have the thermal plant there - it is the only thing that is around."

Mr Tutty confirmed that, along with the 598MW of wind energy that is currently connected to the national grid, additional contracts have also been signed for a further 692MW.

"This gives a total of 1,290MW and there are applications to connect a further 3,269MW so we are at quite a significant position in relation to wind energy.

"People don't realise how well things have been moving."

The Green Paper being published by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey tomorrow is expected to set a target of 30 per cent of the island's electricity generation to be through renewable energy by 2020.

Paddy Teahon, president of the wind energy association, said yesterday that the framework was not in place at the moment to achieve that target.

"We have been very slow to get where we are, because the Government wasn't providing enough incentives," he said, "but I believe that through the Green Paper, the Government is coming very much on board and setting good targets.

"Relative to its size, Ireland could, somewhere between now and 2020, become first in the world for producing renewable energy.

"Delivering this will require a framework involving a series of policies including how the grid is organised in terms of connections."