Introduction
On 12 May 2014, the Department of Communications, Energy and
Natural Resources published a Green Paper on Energy Policy in
Ireland. The Green Paper is a precursor to a White Paper that will
follow and which will seek to define Irish energy policy for the
coming years. The publication of the Green Paper is to be welcomed
as an important step in the future development of Irish energy
policy. The Green Paper comes seven years after the 2007 Energy
Policy Paper, "Delivering a Sustainable Energy Policy for
Ireland." Much has happened in the interim.
Successes
The Single Electricity Market for the Island of Ireland
introduced in 2007 is generally considered to be a success. The
drive towards increased renewable penetration, the key facet of our
pursuit of deep and deeper decarbonisation, has also been very
successful. The generation capacity shortages of the last decade
have been addressed in a managed fashion by our policy makers and
regulators and in a
