The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte will share a podium with the Minister of State at the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, Charles Hendry, at the annual conference of the National Offshore Wind Association in Ireland next month.
Mr Hendry's appearance follows his statement that optimising the natural renewable resource available around our islands would benefit us all.
''While offshore wind will be critical for reaching our domestic 2020 targets, it is in exporting our wind energy that the real economic opportunity lies for Ireland,' commented NOW's general secretary Brian Britton.
Moves to facilitate greater export growth of energy between Ireland and the UK are seen as a critical first step in achieving the full potential of Irish renewable energy, especially offshore wind. Industry estimates indicate that as much as 10,000mw of Irish renewable energy could be available for export to the UK or European grid.
