Irish Achieve 2010 Renewable Target

 Eamon Ryan, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, today welcomed the Renewable Energy in Ireland report by SEAI.

“The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland report shows that last year Ireland generated 14.5% of its electricity from renewable sources. Our target for 2010 was 15%, which EirGrid tell me has already been reached”, the Minister said.

“I have always said that our targets will not be the limits of our ambition and this report proves our success has been greater than we had earlier imagined.

Today’s report proves that we are on track to meet our 2020 target to have 40% of Ireland’s electricity produced from renewable energy.

Every year Ireland loses €6 billion abroad in the importation of fossil fuels. Harnessing the power of the wind and sun in Ireland reduces this bill as well as carbon emissions, benefitting the economy as well as the environment. Our work on ocean energy has the potential to develop the immense power ocean and seas off our shores.

Taken in conjunction with the Electricity and Gas Prices report, we can also see that our drive towards greener energy does not come at the cost to the consumer.