Economy Minister Diane Dodds has outlined the case for a target of 70% renewable energy generation for Northern Ireland by 2030.
Northern Ireland has made great strides on green energy generation in recent years, with 47.7% of total electricity consumption in the region being generated from local renewable sources from July 2019 to June 2020. Economy Minister Diane Dodds has outlined plans for an even more ambitious target for Northern Ireland of at least 70% renewable generation by 2030.
Renewable electricity in Northern Ireland is primarily generated through onshore wind turbines and the industry supports an estimated 5,400 jobs. Our renewable capacity is also being combined recently with a push toward hydrogen generation and storage, putting us on a pathway to complete decarbonisation of the Northern Ireland electricity grid.
Speaking at the annual Northern Ireland Energy Forum conference this week, the Minister said: “Whilst work is ongoing to gather the evidence needed to set a new target for Northern Ireland, I firmly believe that this target should not be below 70% by 2030. This outlines how ambitious I want our Energy Strategy to be; and I want stakeholders and investors to be aware of our ambition.”
A new report on Northern Ireland's renewable electricity pipeline was published by the Department for the Economy yesterday, highlighting projects currently awaiting approval or in the construction phase.
Source: Written based on press release
