The latest report from the Audit Office has unfortunately confirmed our deepest concerns, that the Department for Economy’s green energy strategy is failing to deliver. It warns of a ‘very significant risk’ that two out of our three key targets will be missed by 2030, and starkly reveals that only 1% of one vital energy‑saving initiative has even been achieved.

Deputy Leader Robbie Butler MLA commented on the Audit Report findings,

“It is without doubt that the targets set in the previous mandate, voted on by all parties in the Assembly, set a very high bar. However, the Ulster Unionist Party now recognises that these targets were ambitious and increasingly appear unrealistic for 2030.

"Recent failures regarding energy targets, ongoing energy security concerns, the failure to deliver major roads infrastructure, and significant barriers to agri-food security, all linked to climate change targets, mean we must be realistic and pragmatic. This build up and failure to deliver has left us in a situation where a revision of these targets should be considered. We have seen elsewhere, for example in Scotland, that when targets do not work, they are revised and a new framework is put in place.

"Northern Ireland must also crucially look at structural changes which haven’t even been commenced, never mind delivered. The restrictive grip of SONI and NIE, combined with glacial reform from the department, means renewable connections are expensive, take far too long, and impose considerable penalties on developers. Coupled with that, planning is a nightmare, with renewable investors becoming increasingly frustrated. In Great Britain, response times and approvals are measured in months, not years. It is ironic that as you look east from the Antrim Hills, you can see developments in Scotland that have taken 20% of the time and one-third of the cost, built with the same materials and subcontractors we could be using here.

"There is no strategic view on storage, whether battery, inertia, pumped storage, or any other solution. Much mismanagement from the department that delivered RHI is not helping. Many interventions to help deliver these targets have come too little too late and at massive cost. Look at the Renewable Electricity Price Guarantee it simply will not deliver the numbers needed for 2030.

"Northern Ireland has a role to play in meeting the United Kingdom’s wider climate ambitions, but we cannot break our people or our industries in pursuit of unachievable goals. While Northern Ireland can contribute meaningfully to shared UK climate objectives, we must also acknowledge that we do not have the capacity to lead on this issue".