Minister for Climate Action Eamon Ryan has said that he expects to see electricity prices for households to start coming down in the next few months.
“I expect the prices to start coming down within the coming months, in the autumn period, Mr Ryan told a press conference at Government Buildings this afternoon. “And that needs to happen. Irish householders are put to the pin of their collar by really high prices – caused by our reliance on fossil fuel.”
He said that an energy summit held at Government Buildings today showed that “we have a way forward that brings us to lower cost, more secure and cleaner fuel.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the development of offshore wind as a renewable energy resource would be Ireland’s “moon shot for the 21st century”.
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“This project will go well beyond the lifespan of this Government, and into that of the next one and the one after that,” he said. “It will bring enormous benefits to our economy, to the environment and it is also a great opportunity to bring balanced regional development.”
The two men were speaking at an energy summit at Government Buildings, which brought together senior officials, ministers and energy experts.
Attendees discussed what can be done to accelerate the delivery of renewable energy, how best to ensure energy security and resilience during and after the transition, and ways to realise the economic and social benefits that this transformation presents, officials said.
Speaking before the summit, Mr Ryan said: “Ireland can and will be good at this transition to a more secure, cleaner and cost-effective way of powering our economy, our homes, our buildings and our transport.
“We are already one of the leading countries in the world for integrating onshore wind on to our grid. Last year, Ireland’s wind farms provided more than a third of the country’s electricity and we are continuing to invest heavily in our electricity infrastructure in order to accommodate increasing proportions of renewable energy from wind and solar over the coming decade and beyond.
“There is no turning back. We signed an agreement for the first interconnector to France last year and we are strengthening our interconnection with the UK. We successfully launched the first offshore wind auction a few months ago and are preparing for phases two and three. It makes such sense for Ireland to harness our own clean, economical, indigenous power rather than remain ransomed to dirty, expensive and unreliable fossil fuels.”
