THE NORTH'S Energy Minister, Arlene Foster, has pledged that with Northern Ireland so hugely dependent on imports to meet its energy needs, renewable energy development will be a priority of her agenda.
The North has a target over the next four years of doubling the energy consumption that comes from renewables such as wind, wave and solar power, Ms Foster told the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) conference, which was held for the first time in Belfast yesterday.
"With 99 per cent dependence on imports to meet our energy needs, renewable energy is an imperative for Northern Ireland, to enhance security of supply, help protect against the price volatility of imported fossil fuels and to meet EU targets," she said.
"The good news is that Northern Ireland has some enviable natural resources, in particular wind, and it is encouraging that we now have 19 wind farms across Northern Ireland.
"As a result of this development, around 6 per cent of our electricity consumption is from renewable sources, a growth of some 60 per cent over the past three years," added the DUP Minister.
The target to 2012 is to double that energy consumption figure to 12 per cent coming from wind as well as other renewable sources of energy, she added.
Dr Michael Walsh, chief executive of IWEA, urged the Government and the Northern Executive to set targets that reflected the potential of renewable energy on the island of Ireland.
Dr Walsh said the all-island grid study published earlier this year clearly demonstrated the potential to incorporate increasing quantities of renewable power - up to 42 per cent of the island's power needs.
"We believe that the potential for wind is even higher and represents the next great revolution in energy generation and use," he added.
