RenewableNI Director Steven Agnew looks ahead to what 2025 will bring for the renewable energy sector.

I ended last year saying there was a feeling of ‘nearly there’, as years of work were on the verge of coming to fruition.

The final design of the new Northern Ireland renewable electricity support scheme is expected to be published by the Department for the Economy (DfE) around March. The scheme will help stimulate a new wave of renewable investment.
Under the previous ROCs scheme, Northern Ireland became renewable leaders reaching the 40 per cent target two years early.

It is important we learn lessons from the failures that followed the success; when the target was achieved, stagnation set in, and we have gone from leaders to laggers.
The drop off in grid investment has led to connection issues for new projects in the pipeline. Thankfully SONI has been engaging with RenewableNI.

The DfE review of the Energy Strategy this year gives us the opportunity to look beyond the 80 per cent by 2030 target. Labour announced the UK targets last month -NI needs our own clean power mission.
Setting staging posts on the journey to net zero will ensure consent and consistent progress. It allows us to better invest in the future and prepare infrastructure and policy well ahead of time.

If there was a renewable phrase of 2024, unfortunately it would be ‘Dispatch down’. Record levels last year had a profound affect on renewable generators. A RenewableNI sub-committee has been working to address the issue and 2025 will see accelerated actions bringing long term benefits.

RenewableNI begins the year with a return to our in-person working group sessions as we set key objectives for 2025. Bringing our members together is what we do best, ensuring the voices from the renewable electricity sector are heard at the highest level.

Our members feed into consultation responses, join us for Ministerial meetings and Stormont Committee briefings. I’m delighted that nine members have upgraded to our new Gold tier and a further 10 becoming Silver. Their support has allowed RenewableNI to grow and our team has doubled since last year.

I am optimistic for the industry for 2025.

I look forward to working with you, Steven.

You can read our review of 2024 at https://renewableni.com/renewableni-2024-review/