The structures are now in place for work on developing renewable energy and encouraging the use of renewable fuels, a new report states.
Minister for Natural Resources Noel Dempsey yesterday launched the publication of Renewable Energy Development 2006.
He said the report provided an overview of current policies in the field of renewable energy, and served as a concise introduction to the topical issues and challenges in the area.
The report covered areas such as combined heat and power (CHP), the family of bioenergy technologies, ocean power and wind power.
"Since my appointment to the energy portfolio I have seen great progress made in this industry. The CHP, biofuels, bioheat, greener homes and REFIT packages are all part of an emerging support infrastructure to encourage all sectors of the economy to switch to renewable fuels or sustainable energy generation."
Mr Dempsey said support programmes and the accelerated liberalisation programme for green electricity had more than doubled the capacity of renewable energy-powered electricity generating plants connected to the electricity network in the last two years.
"It is my intention to build on these successes over the coming months, and this report, along with the forthcoming Green Paper on energy, will provide a further forum in which industry and the public in general can input into the policy formation process."
He said an ambitious target had been set to treble the contribution by renewable energy sources from 5 per cent of electricity produced in recent years to an annual production target of 15 per cent by 2010.
The report said a sustainable energy economy depended on both efficiency in the supply and consumption of energy and in substantial deployment of renewable sources.
The sustainable energy agenda cut across many disciplines and policy areas. "The structures are now in place for future work to take place in an integrated and co-ordinated manner."