Renewable Rewards: How you save from the switch to renewable electricity

The development of renewables in Northern Ireland has reduced the cost burden on consumers by £200 million between 2000 and 2023. This saving of £100 per person, realised on the power bills of all consumers, has been driven by the low cost of renewable power generation.  

Wind and solar farms have no fuel cost, allowing them to undercut more expensive gas- and coal-fired generators, and displace them from the wholesale power market. 

This report, commissioned by RenewableNI, a renewable electricity organisation, found that if Northern Ireland continues to invest in wind and solar generation to achieve 80% renewable electricity, new renewables could pay additional dividends to consumers of £110 million in 2030. 

Northern Ireland’s transition to renewables has prevented more than 13 million tonnes of CO2 from being emitted since 2000, equal to taking 315,000 cars off the road today, a quarter of the total vehicles in Northern Ireland. 

Read the report for: 

• The savings conferred to consumers by renewable energy in Northern Ireland since 2000. 
• The potential additional savings that could be unlocked in 2030 if Northern Ireland continues to invest in renewables. 
• The volume and cost of fossil fuels avoided by renewables. 
• The carbon emissions avoided by renewables. 

Read the report to find out more

RenewableNI is renewable electricity organisation, whose members have a focus on building the future energy system, powered by clean electricity. 

Read our previous report on this here: The wind dividend: how wind energy pays back to Northern Ireland

What does this mean for you? 

What happens if Northern Ireland’s target of 80% renewable electricity by 2030 isn’t achieved on time? 

Renewable Rewards shows the size of the prize – additional consumer savings of £110 million – if the government ambition is realised by 2030. This result has been calculated relative to a baseline scenario, in which no more renewables are commissioned from today’s levels. 

Our findings therefore show the range of consumer savings available if the target is not achieved – if less renewable capacity is connected to the grid – a smaller saving will be realised on end consumer bills. 

The £110 million net saving is an annual figure for the year 2030 alone, and similar savings would be conferred to consumers in subsequent years once renewable capacity is deployed. The more quickly renewables can be deployed, the greater the cumulative savings – for both consumer costs, and CO2 emissions. 

Have consumers in other markets saved from the development of renewables? 

The exact line items included in consumer power bills, and the way they are divided across consumers, varies from market to market. In geographies with competitive market arrangements, in which generators are dispatched according to their running costs, renewables will be able to lower the wholesale cost of electricity in the same way they have done so in Northern Ireland. 

The overall impact on consumer bills will then depend on the size of this saving relative to the costs incurred to support renewable projects, integrate them onto the grid, and balance the system. 

In the Republic of Ireland, both of the savings (wholesale and capacity market) and two of the costs (dispatch balancing and system services) are paid by consumers through the same tariffs we have calculated for Northern Ireland. The two remaining costs (renewable support and network) will have varied across the two jurisdictions.  

For more information, reach out to Mark Turner and Alec Granville-Willett.