Floating offshore wind farms will be needed for Ireland to meet its renewable energy targets, the ESB has told an Oireachtas committee.

The Programme for Government set a target of 5GW (gigawatts) of offshore wind by 2030, which would power around five million homes. It also commits to developing floating wind farms off the Irish coast from 2030 onwards.

But Jim Dollard, executive director of generation at the ESB, told the Dail Environment and Climate Action Committee yesterday that the plan needs to be fast-tracked if Ireland is to meet its targets. Mr Dollard said floating offshore wind projects under development by the ESB and other industry players can be delivered before 2030.

He said: "While fixed-bed wind farms on the east coast will make up the bulk of capacity delivered in Ireland by 2030, ESB believes building offshore wind farms will be required in delivering the national target of 5GW by 2030."

Noel Cunniffe, from Wind Energy Ireland, also warned that our renewable energy targets are "at serious risk".

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He said the problem was not a lack of projects being developed, but that politicians needed to focus on delivery.

Earlier this year Virgin Media concluded a deal with Energia as a result of which Virgin's entire access network will run on 100% renewable electricity.

The access network includes nodes, amplifiers and street cabinets, essential for customers to connect to broadband and mobile services, and Energia is expected to provide around 14 million kWh of renewable energy to keep the network online.

Virgin Media said it has committed to achieving the Low Carbon Pledge with Business in the Community Ireland, aiming for a further 50% reduction in its carbon footprint by 2030.