Renewable Electricity Price Guarantee
Reaching the target of 80% renewables will require significant collaboration between government and industry to diversify and increase renewable electricity generation within Northern Ireland.
Current position
Currently, with no existing support scheme in Northern Ireland, potential investment into renewable electricity in Northern Ireland is instead being diverted to Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, and other countries. A support scheme for Northern Ireland would support investment and be a driver to increase wealth, prosperity and living standards across Northern Ireland.
Public consultation
The Energy Strategy Action Plan 2022, published in January 2022, outlined 22 commitments for the year. The Action Plan includes an action to consult on a renewable electricity support scheme (Action Point 12).
In February 2023 the Department published a consultation on design considerations for a renewable electricity support scheme for Northern Ireland.
This is the first step towards the implementation of a support scheme that can ensure electricity generation from a diverse range of renewables. Such a scheme is essential to deliver on the NI Executive’s Energy Strategy targets and ensure NI can effectively attract investors to benefit from
green growth opportunities while also protecting consumers from global price shocks.
The publication of the government response to the consultation in April 2024, “Design considerations for a renewable electricity support scheme for Northern Ireland,” outlined the wider policy objectives of the new scheme, the intended features underpinning the scheme design, as well as an illustrative auction roadmap of renewable generation to be procured under the support scheme by 2030.
This marked a key milestone towards delivering on the 80% by 2030 renewable electricity consumption target set out in the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022.
The following phase of scheme development involved technical modelling and a financial impact assessment, alongside the establishment of the legislative pathway, State Aid approval, and institutional roles and responsibilities necessary for delivery.