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Planning uncertainty biggest renewables barrier – MHC

Three out of four energy professionals (73%) say that market uncertainty is the biggest barrier to financing new renewable technologies in Ireland, according to a survey by Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC).

The survey of more than 250 people working in the industry was carried out at the firm’s annual energy conference, Financing Ireland’s Energy Transition, earlier this week.

The conference discussed the challenges of financing technologies such as offshore wind, battery storage, biomethane, and hydrogen to help meet Ireland’s climate targets.

Planning laws

More than half of respondents (53%) said that uncertainty about planning permission was the biggest obstacle to the financing of Ireland’s more established renewable energy categories, such as onshore wind and solar.

The conference heard, however, that Ireland’s new planning laws, expected by the end of October, had the potential to alleviate many of the challenges faced by the sector.

Despite challenges, nearly half (49%) of respondents saw Ireland's renewable financing climate as stable, while more than a third (34%) saw it as improving.

Complexity

Event chair Eoin Cassidy (lead energy partner, MHC) said that releasing the necessary capital to decarbonise the economy was “one of the most pressing challenges of our time”.

“The complexity of financing this transition requires decisive action to overcome the barriers affecting the roll-out of renewable projects across Ireland,” he added.

Peter McLay (energy partner, MHC), who chaired a panel on financing new renewable technologies, said that neighbouring jurisdictions had found ways to overcome financing hurdles.

"Ireland can do the same; it’s just a case of grasping the nettle and resolving the various risks that currently stand in our way,” he stated,

The case for biomethane

Of the new technologies, offshore wind was favoured by just over half of respondents (51%) as the most attractive proposition for low-cost project finance in Ireland.

Panellist Karen Doyle (head of business development at Gas Networks Ireland) also made the case for biomethane, saying: “Hydrogen is exciting, but so much has to happen: the price has to make sense, the infrastructure has to make sense.

“Whereas studies show that Ireland is one of the best places to develop biomethane in Europe right now. Biomethane is the now, and hydrogen is the future,” she argued.

Auction

The event came as the Government announced the provisional results of the fourth Renewable Electricity Support Scheme auction (RESS 4), which awarded financial support to over 1300MW of large-scale renewable projects.

Cassidy described the results of the auction as “an improvement” compared with previous rounds, both in terms of volume and pricing.

He added, however, that the true test would be in the delivery of installed capacity.

Solar developments totalling 960MW were successful in the round, according to results published by EirGrid.

However, panellist Dermot Hughes (head of commercial at BNRG Renewables) warned: “We need protection from inflation in future for RESS auctions – solar megawatts were left behind in the recent auction.”