Green Energy Bill - Consultation
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John O'Dowd MLA (Sinn Féin) is proposing the introduction of a Small Scale Green Energy Bill in the north of Ireland. The following questions are intended to gather the views of the public in order to better inform and improve this legislation.
In 2018 the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that we had just 12 years to drastically reduce C02 emissions before the effects of climate change became irreversible.
Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and moving towards renewable forms of energy production is absolutely vital if we are to make the changes we need in order to avert a climate catastrophe.
And we must make those changes quickly. The crisis we face is an existential one. The longer we delay making the reforms we need, the more expensive and extensive they will be when we do.
However, in order to ensure that our society's transition from fossil fuels to renewables is a just one, we must not only change how we generate energy, but who generates it.
Microgeneration technologies such as roof top solar panels and small scale windmills allow energy consumers to become energy producers.
Not only does this help us achieve our emissions reduction goals but it improves energy democracy and empowers people to harness the potential of our island’s vast renewable energy resources.
The intention of this bill is to boost microgeneration by placing a legal requirement on major electricity providers and suppliers to pay a statutory minimum price for electricity they receive from private homes, farms, businesses and community schemes.
A statutory minimum price for electricity generated through renewable small scale or microgeneration sources would promote and support an increase in sustainable renewable energy in the north of Ireland.
The bill would require a minimum price to be based on current and relevant economic factors (e.g. the broader macroeconomic conditions, unit price of renewable energy, financial stability of the providers themselves etc.). This responsibility will fall to the Department of Communities who has the remit for energy policy.
The Bill will also set a minimum threshold for market share which will determine what providers are obliged to offer a minimum price for electricity generated through small scale green energy/microgeneration. By setting this rate at 5%, as in the draft legislation, the current major electricity providers will be obliged to offer a minimum price.
The bill would also place an obligation on these providers to ensure that a minimum of 5% of their total electricity supply came from micro-generation.
The Small Scale Green Energy Bill is fundamentally different from controversial renewable energy schemes that have existed previously. It is not a grant for installing renewable energy generators nor does it seek to use public money. It will require major electricity providers to pay at least a minimum price for energy they get from private microgenerators and will require them to source at least 5% of their total electricity output from micro-generation.
In 2018 the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that we had just 12 years to drastically reduce C02 emissions before the effects of climate change became irreversible.
Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and moving towards renewable forms of energy production is absolutely vital if we are to make the changes we need in order to avert a climate catastrophe.
And we must make those changes quickly. The crisis we face is an existential one. The longer we delay making the reforms we need, the more expensive and extensive they will be when we do.
However, in order to ensure that our society's transition from fossil fuels to renewables is a just one, we must not only change how we generate energy, but who generates it.
Microgeneration technologies such as roof top solar panels and small scale windmills allow energy consumers to become energy producers.
Not only does this help us achieve our emissions reduction goals but it improves energy democracy and empowers people to harness the potential of our island’s vast renewable energy resources.
The intention of this bill is to boost microgeneration by placing a legal requirement on major electricity providers and suppliers to pay a statutory minimum price for electricity they receive from private homes, farms, businesses and community schemes.
A statutory minimum price for electricity generated through renewable small scale or microgeneration sources would promote and support an increase in sustainable renewable energy in the north of Ireland.
The bill would require a minimum price to be based on current and relevant economic factors (e.g. the broader macroeconomic conditions, unit price of renewable energy, financial stability of the providers themselves etc.). This responsibility will fall to the Department of Communities who has the remit for energy policy.
The Bill will also set a minimum threshold for market share which will determine what providers are obliged to offer a minimum price for electricity generated through small scale green energy/microgeneration. By setting this rate at 5%, as in the draft legislation, the current major electricity providers will be obliged to offer a minimum price.
The bill would also place an obligation on these providers to ensure that a minimum of 5% of their total electricity supply came from micro-generation.
The Small Scale Green Energy Bill is fundamentally different from controversial renewable energy schemes that have existed previously. It is not a grant for installing renewable energy generators nor does it seek to use public money. It will require major electricity providers to pay at least a minimum price for energy they get from private microgenerators and will require them to source at least 5% of their total electricity output from micro-generation.