The RHI scandal had a huge impact on renewable energy schemes which is still being felt today, an industry chief has said.
Steven Agnew, head of RenewableNI which represents the renewable electricity industry in Northern Ireland, said the north still does not have a financial incentive scheme for renewables four years after the last one closed.
And he said the botched Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, which was designed to encourage people to use more eco-friendly technology but effectively paid users for burning fuel, had a chilling effect on policy.
He said although the NIRO (Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation) scheme “overachieved”, when it closed in 2017 politicians decided that the north should not join the equivalent Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme in Britain.
“The target was to deliver 40% by 2020 and what we (the renewables industry) achieved was 49%,” he said.
“The forecast cost was £33 per year per consumer and the actual cost was £31… It was the opposite of RHI - it overachieved.
“Undoubtedly in policy-makers’ minds, (when) the NIRO closed in 2017 and the decision was made not to join the CDF… I believe part of the reason was because no politician at that time was wanting to do something new on renewables.”
Last year, the Audit Office criticised the NIRO scheme saying although it helped the north exceed its renewable energy targets, the financial return for some investors may have been more generous than needed, offering up to 20 per cent higher profits than that elsewhere in the UK.
Mr Agnew, a former leader of the Green Party, said although fears about renewable energy schemes remain, “there is an absolute need to do something” amid the ongoing climate emergency.
Northern Ireland’s first-ever climate bill, brought forward as a private member’s bill by Green MLA Clare Bailey, was backed by MLAs earlier this month and is now being scrutinised by Stormont’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee.
Agriculture minister Edwin Poots, who will become DUP leader at the end of this month, wants to bring forward his own, less ambitious, legislation.
In March, economy minister Diane Dodds launched a consultation on a new energy strategy for the north. The consultation, which will run until the end of June, is seeking views on how energy can be affordable while still achieving net zero carbon targets.
Mr Agnew said that many of RenewableNI's members “are watching to see what will be in this energy strategy”.
He said the body supports the north joining the CfD.
“It needs to be tailored to Northern Ireland’s needs but that seems to be the right direction of travel,” he said.
“The old NIRO was a subsidy for renewables. That’s not how the CfD works. It’s more about a price guarantee but developers are willing to take a lower price if it’s guaranteed.
“One analysis of the UK CfD estimates that it will result in a £1.5 billion subsidy over its lifetime from the generator to the consumer so it could see generators help bring down consumer bills.”
Mr Agnew said he wanted to see a “net zero power system by 2040”.
“We have the technology now,” he said.
“We know what a net zero power system looks like - it’s more wind although for Northern Ireland there’ll be more off-shore (wind power) than there is now.
“There might be some tidal (power) but it’ll be on-shore wind and solar primarily with some off-shore technologies.”
He said that demand for power is expected to rise substantially as the heat and transport sectors rely more heavily on technologies including heat pumps for houses and electric cars.
If the north is to have 80% of its energy from renewables by 2030, then it will need more than twice the generation capacity it has, he said.
“It’s not unfeasible to see an off-shore project that delivers 600 megawatts so you can meet quite a proportion of that new energy that you need with one project,” he said.
“Off-shore are bigger projects, there are taller turbines, the number of turbines (is greater). I think that’s why off-shore is seen as such a prize because it can do so much.”
Last month, infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon launched a review of planning policy on renewable and low carbon energy.
Mr Agnew said that planning policy “needs to match the energy strategy”.
“We have seen some local councils that are looking to severely restrict renewable development and it seems to be in contrast to what’s happening at a UK level and even at an Assembly level in declaring a climate emergency,” he said.
He added: “The reality is that developers will choose the windiest locations”.
“They’re generally at the tops of hills. They are also the areas that people most value from a visual point of view.
“We have to accept that wind development is going to be part of our future because the alternative of the old centralised power stations - they’re no longer an option. 85% of our current renewable generation is from wind. It will be the main solution.”
He said the construction of the North-South Interconnector, which has been mired in planning disputes for over a decade, “is a necessary part of decarbonising our power supply”.
Mr Agnew said the hugely destructive gorse fire in the Mournes earlier this year - “what we used to call freak weather events” - are becoming more common due to climate change.
He said moving towards renewable energy had financial benefits, creating jobs for rural communities, as well as leading to cleaner air and mitigating against the worst effects of climate change.
“There’s a real green recovery that’s on the table if we make some of the right choices,” he said.
