Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce

Under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, Ireland is committed to a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2030, relative to 2018, and achieving a carbon neutral economy by 2050. To achieve this, a system of five year carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings has been established, with the first two carbon budgets to run from 2021 to 2030.

The establishment of the Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce ("the ARE Taskforce") was a key measure in the Climate Action Plan 2023 (CAP 23). The role of the ARE Taskforce is to identify, coordinate, and prioritise the policies required to fast-track and increase deployment of onshore renewable electricity generation and supporting technologies and ensure that barriers to the implementation of those policies are removed or minimised to the greatest extent possible, in order to meet the Electricity Sectoral Emissions Ceilings.

The ARE Taskforce is chaired by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, and its membership comprises senior officials from several government departments and state agencies.

Feeding into the Taskforce is a structure of Working Groups divided into the three pillars of renewables delivery:

• Grid Development and Electricity Storage;
• Planning, and;
• Route to Market.

The ARE Taskforce will regularly publish programmes of work, setting out the objectives and milestones to deliver an increase level of onshore renewable electricity generation capacity and the required supporting infrastructure, including grid infrastructure and electricity storage capacity. The ARE Taskforce programmes of work will be updated regularly, taking into account future iterations of the Climate Action Plan and Government policy.

Implementation Plan

The ARE Taskforce Implementation Plan was the first programme of work, prepared by the ARE Taskforce. It sets out the initial objectives and milestones to deliver an increased level of onshore renewable electricity generation capacity and supporting infrastructure.

Annual Summary Report 2024/25 and Key Actions 2025/26

The achievements of the Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce over the last number of years highlight the importance of bringing together key actors and delivering a cohesive approach to policymaking and project delivery. Our Annual Summary Report 2024/2025 and Key Actions 2025/2026 of the ARET has now been published. This report details some of the year’s key achievements, highlights challenges faced and presents key actions for 2025/2026.