Michael Phillips, Principal Consultant at renewable energy consultancy Dulas, said:

"It's widely anticipated that Ireland will struggle to meet its 2020 carbon emissions targets, but the new RESS should go some way towards helping the country build out its clean energy capacity and reduce its dependence on energy imported from overseas. 

"However, the devil is in the detail - the absence of technology-specific auctions will likely see the nascent solar sector underperform when up against a more established onshore wind market, and the new scheme does not address the potential of the domestic renewables sector to contribute to indigenous energy supplies.

"Equally, while the aim of securing community ownership of projects developed under the scheme is certainly laudable, in practice this may prove difficult to achieve. There is concern among developers that there is no established joint-working history with communities in Ireland, and the perception is that shared ownership will eat into projects' profitability and create greater uncertainty around the amount of money that is out there and available for investment in such projects."

Dulas | www.dulas.org