Almost 10% of energy consumed in Northern Ireland is from renewable sources.
The amount of power generated has increased to 755,000 megawatt hours in the last 10 years, a report for the Department of the Environment said.
Richard Murphy, a lawyer in the Belfast office of McGrigors law firm and expert in renewable energy, said further action was needed if the Northern Ireland Government is to meet its target to produce 12% of all electricity consumed from indigenous renewable sources by 2012.
“The number of applications for new facilities is stacking up and delays in the planning process are causing delays,” he warned.
“We know that some planning applications are taking as long as three years to be approved, so we need to look at how that situation can be alleviated.”