Renewable Energy Development in County Mayo

Introduction

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as wind, rain, sunlight, the ocean and geothermal heat. The Government has set national targets for the provision of renewable energy[1] which include:

• 16% of our energy consumption to come from renewable sources by 2020;
• 42.5% of our electricity consumption to come from renewable sources by 2020;
  12% of our energy consumption to come from renewable sources for heating and cooling; and
• 10% of our final energy from renewable sources consumed intransport by 2020.

A range of measures and policies are being implemented by several Government Departments to encourage the development of renewable energy projects. Supports are provided to the generation of both supply (encouragement of sources of renewable energy) and demand (usage of energy from renewable sources). As a result, there is now an increased focus on encouraging the usage of renewable energy and reducing the reliance on fossil fuels.

Renewable energy provides many opportunities to benefit rural communities economically, environmentally and socially. Individuals, communities and businesses are interested in this developing sector; however, despite having enormous potential, there are many challenges involved in getting projects off the ground and into production.

There are several national policy initiatives which set the context and overall policy framework for the delivery of renewable energy regionally. These include the National Climate Change Strategy 2007-2012 and the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (2010-2020), which sets out renewable energy targets for 2020 and a roadmap towards their achievement.

Local Policy Context

Two County Mayo case studies are presented on regional renewable energy development and the influence that the Rural Development Programme (RDP) has had on this sector in the county. It is clear that the County and its citizens aspire to become leaders in the energy sector and, in particular to be a centre for renewable energy production and to share in the benefits that could arise.

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