The way homeowners generate and use electricity is changing, thanks to a new grant scheme for rooftop solar PV recently announced by Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten.

The grant scheme will be administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, which will be available all day on 21 August at Energy in Agriculture to answer questions. The scheme will provide a contribution of up to €3,800 towards total installation costs.

Self-consumption

To maximise self-consumption, the scheme requires that any installation greater than 2kWp must install a battery to store excess energy.

Where installations are 2kWp or less in size, it is recommended to install a hot water diverter and excess electricity will be used to heat water. While the current scheme is only for farmhouses and residential buildings generally, provides a basis for the expansion of the scheme in the near future, for all farm buildings.

Framework publication

This new grant scheme follows on from the publication by Minister Naugten of a framework for a new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) for larger-scale non-residential projects.

The RESS document places a welcomed emphasis on community participation in future renewable projects, although it has not recognised the additional supports required for categories such as farm-scale projects.

The move away from a feed-in tariff model, as set out in the RESS document to an auction type scheme may favour larger-scale projects, particularly wind, to the exclusion of small to medium farm-scale community-based projects, where a multitude of alternative technologies can be deployed.

This will not lead to a balanced mix of energy sources, which will continue to add to community concerns and also limit Ireland’s security of energy supply.

This and many other topics will form part of the many questions put to panellists including Minister Naughten, IFA president Joe Healy, EPA director Matt Crowe, Tipperary Energy Agency CEO Paul Kenny, Teagasc energy specialist Barry Caslin and others at Energy in Agriculture 2018. Make sure not to miss it.