Energy

The new Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) will be established in July, the government has announced. After its establishment on 17 July 2023, the new agency will have responsibility for assessing applications for maritime area consents (MACs) which will be required before developers of offsh

Ireland must withdraw from the discredited Energy Charter Treaty, argues Eoin Jackson. In February 2023, a leaked communication from the European Commission signalled that a collective EU withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) appeared "unavoidable". This follows on from announcements from

A bursary established in memory of the late Arthur Cox partner Niamh Burke will be awarded this year to Sean Murphy from Cavan and Karin Mackey from Mullinahone, Co Tipperary. The Niamh Burke Memorial Bursary fosters and supports study and research in the field of renewable energy. It annually award

Legislation providing for a windfall tax on massive profits in the energy sector has moved forward with the government's approval of the general scheme. The Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) Bill 2023 will introduce a "temporary solidarity contribution" based on taxable profits in the fos

Mason Hayes & Curran LLP has been named Leading Legal/Financial Consultancy of the Year at the 2023 Irish Wind Industry Awards. Sponsored by SSE Renewables, the awards celebrate the very best within the Irish wind industry and the commitment of key stakeholders to cutting carbon emissions and ma

UK law firm TLT has appointed Belfast-based renewable energy development expert David Miller as partner in the firm’s UK-wide real estate team. Mr Miller has over a decade of experience advising on the investment, sale and development of renewable energy projects as well as advising landowners

International law firm Clark Hill LLP has announced the establishment of an offshore wind practice group in Dublin. Aidan Eames, a consultant in the firm since its merger with Eames Solicitors just over a year ago, is leading the new group, which will serve clients investing in the rapidly growing I

New legislation has been developed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine to strengthen the government's ability to respond to a curtailment of oil supplies. Ministers have approved the publication of the Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2022, w

A long-awaited government plan to tackle energy poverty should be put on a statutory footing with legally binding targets, Community Law & Mediation (CLM) has said. The law centre welcomed last week's publication of the Energy Poverty Action Plan, in particular the establishment of a cross-depar

The UK’s exit from the EU has plunged Ireland’s all-island energy market into a democratic deficit with decisions on Northern Ireland’s energy supply no longer in the hands of its citizens and government, new research has shown. The cross-border Single Electricity Market (SEM) was

New regulations strengthening the legal duties of larger energy companies to help energy users save energy have been brought into effect. The European Union (Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme) Regulations 2022 were signed today by Eamon Ryan, the minister for the environment, climate and communica

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised AIB on a corporate power purchase agreement with NTR plc to buy energy from two new solar farms which will provide 80 per cent of the bank's energy requirements. AIB is one of the first Irish companies to close such an agreement, which significantly

New planning exemptions for the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of houses and certain non-domestic buildings have been brought into effect. The regulations signed into law by housing minister Darragh O'Brien aim to bring Ireland into line with the EU's Solar Rooftops Initiative by makin

More that two-thirds of Ireland's energy sector believes that the government's delivery target for offshore wind is either extremely challenging or completely unrealistic, according to a survey by business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran. Just seven per cent of industry professionals believe that

An industry body representing oil importers, distributors and marketers in Ireland has announced plans for a judicial review of Irish government plans to reduce energy consumption. In order to help meet EU targets on energy consumption, introduced in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the