Moving from competitive tender to feed in tariff - Wind energy policy in Ireland

The Alternative Energy Requirement (AER) competitive tender mechanism has delivered 304 MW in Ireland (total wind capacity of 534 MW). To meet the EU RES-E Directive target for Ireland will require approx 1,100 MW of wind capacity by 2010. The Government announced in April 2005 that a Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff will replace the competitive tendering scheme. This paper explores why the AER scheme has failed and points to a failure to align three key regulatory processes, namely securing market access, planning permission and a grid connection agreement. The results show that the success rate for AERI was 153% and this compared with 42% for AERIII, 18% for AERV and 41% for AERVI. While the success rates of more recent AER rounds have been poor, there has also been a considerable level of deployment (210 MW) outside this Government mandated support mechanism. It further explores the whether the move from a competitive tendering market support system to a feed in tariff in Ireland will increase the possibilities of meeting targets The differences between this proposed feed in tariff and those utilised in other countries is also examined.