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The Department for the Economy has published the latest renewable electricity generation figures – and they are disappointing to read.

There has been a drop in the percentage of Northern Ireland’s electricity that has come from renewable sources compared to the previous 12 month period.

Northern Ireland has gone from leaders to laggards. A lack of market support, uncertainty on planning timelines and high levels of dispatch down, means NI is currently seen as an unattractive place for renewable investment.

Steven Agnew, RenewableNI Director, said: “The current figure of 45.4% of our electricity from renewables is based largely on the development that took place under the old ROCs scheme. In its last year, 400MW of renewables were connected – we have had a combined total of only 86MW this decade.”

“The Climate Act set a legal obligation to have 80% by 2030, which means we need to more than double the generation to meet the increased demand as we electrify heat and transport.

“Today’s figures should act as a warning to policymakers. The target can still be met, but we need urgent policy action to deliver the pipeline of projects. Business as usual will see us fall well short.”

You can read the Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation Statistics report of the DfE website.

DfE table