The implementation of the Renewable Energy Directives began with RED I – Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC), which came into effect in June 2009, and was followed by RED II (EU 2018/2001), which came into effect in 2018, with a requirement to be transposed from June 2021. This was amended by the RED III Directive (EU/2023/2413), which entered into force on 20 November 2023. The RED III Directive subsequently transposed into Irish legislation by way of European Union (Planning and Development) (Renewable Energy) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 274 of 2025) with the majority of the provisions coming into effect on 7th August 2025. Since this transposition there have been a number of additional Statutory Instruments published in Irish legislation (3 in total) and accompanying circulars (6 in total) issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to clarify or detail the timing of the introduction of certain elements of the directive.
Initially, one of the key elements of the RED III directive, namely the introduction of mandatory statutory scoping by the consenting authority for those projects that require Environmental Impact Assessment was due to commence on the 1st of October 2025. The commencement of this requirement was deferred as part of SI.435 of 2025 published on the 24th of September 2025. The commencement date was deferred until 1st of May 2026. Since the beginning of October 2025, our Renewables Team have been working across a range of RED III projects with a potential installed capacity of in excess of 350MW to deliver the required planning applications and associated supporting documentation in advance of the 1st of May 2026. Statutory scoping carried out by the consenting authority was up to the 1st of May 2026 a voluntary process and as such was not generally used by applicants. Hence, there is a lack of familiarity and a resulting level of uncertainty within the industry with regards to timelines, requirements and the nature of the scoping opinion produced as part of this process which has driven the submission of a large number of projects in advance of the deadline.
As of the 30th of April 2026, an SI (S.I. No. 185 of 2026) and associated circular was published that has further extended the date of implementation until the 1st of November. This extension is welcome as further time is required to give space for the publication of required guidance from relevant authorities such as An Coimisiún Pleanála and National Parks and Wildlife Services. MKO has experience of this process and has developed and will continue to refine its approach to the statutory scoping in the interim to ensure that any projects that required this step will progress in as efficient and effective a manner as possible.