With the dynamics of the next Government taking shape, there have been renewed calls to put measures in place to make it easier to develop the solar industry. The Irish Solar Energy Association (ISEA), a group which comprises of around 160 international, regional and domestic solar energy providers, has issued a report ahead of the next Government forming.

Solar progressWhile some may see solar as a cost-effective means to reduce energy costs or as a valuable land lease option, it’s seen as a costly investment and competition for land by others. Regardless of these views, solar has become the dominant renewable technology on farms and a major new land use in the country. Therefore, policy which impacts the solar sector, directly impacts farming.

By the end of 2023, solar energy accounted for 6% of global electricity generation. Closer to home, in July, ESB Networks announced it had connected 100,000 Irish rooftops to the grid. In October 2024, solar generated 1.4 GW of power here. If the sector continues to grow at this rate, by 2030, solar could provide 20% of Ireland’s electricity demand, primarily during peak business hours.

If certain changes are made, the solar sector may be one of the only ones in line to meet, and even exceed, the 2030 target of 8GW of installed solar across rooftops and farms. In this article, I pull out some of the main changes called for which impact farmers.

Microgeneration Support Scheme

The Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS) was designed to support the rollout of rooftop solar, both providing grants and allowing farmers and the public to sell electricity back to the grid and get paid.

However, measures in the MSS are being rolled back even as we struggle to reach our climate action targets. ISEA states that the country needs farmers and the public to install up to 2,500 MW of rooftop solar by 2030.

Even when the grant was set at its highest level (€2,400), just 316MW of micro-generated solar was connected to the grid. Ireland now needs to connect approximately 364 MW of micro-generated solar every year between now and 2030 to stay on track to meet our 2030 solar targets.

SEAI solar PV supports are set to reduce further.

In January 2024, post-grant reduction to €2,100, applications to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) fell from 6,194 in December to 1,017. With further grant aid reduction planned, the ISEA has called for this to be stopped.

Agrivoltaics

The ISEA has called for the incoming Government to create a new framework to support agrivoltaics, combining agriculture with renewable energy. The group states that this will ensure that the agricultural community and food security are prioritised and supported during the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.

The ISEA said Ireland is one of the most carbon-efficient producers of beef and milk. However, agriculture and renewable energy are not mutually exclusive and can be combined to great effect, the document states.

Allowing private wires would require deals between developers and landowners.

The group cites European and national studies which show that combining land use for solar power generation and agricultural production can increase renewable energy, boost farming incomes, reduce emissions and support food security.

However, the document stops short of providing detail on how this will be achieved. Across the world, agrivoltaics is described as the practice of solar and agriculture co-location, i.e. agricultural production underneath or adjacent to solar panels.

This typically requires solar arrays to be spaced further apart or placed higher off the ground to allow the land to be farmed. While sheep can graze around solar farms in Ireland, it is generally at a much-reduced stocking intensity.

In the document, the group also calls for increased incentives to be offered to farmers to generate and use renewable energy on-site. It also calls for a review and update of tax structures to ensure they fully support the dual use of land for renewable energy and agriculture.

Private wires

Except in very limited circumstances, all Irish electricity lines are kept within the ownership of ESB Networks as the electricity network owner. Allowing privately owned wires would support the development of solar projects to decarbonise harder-to-reach sectors of the economy (e.g. pharmaceutical facilities, factories etc.) and free ESB Networks up to focus on strategic network development, the ISEA states. This would mean that private deals between developers and landowners would be needed, in order for cables to cross farmland.

Post-RESS

Many of the solar farms that you see being built around the country are supported under the Government’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS). The RESS has been instrumental in supporting solar farms in particular, providing a fixed price guarantee for 15 years through an auction-based system.

In megawatt terms, solar has been the most successful technology in each of the first three auctions, with more auctions to come. However, the ISEA is looking beyond RESS and is now calling for the next Government to obtain EU state aid approval for a new renewable energy support scheme to follow on from RESS. This would mean that more solar farms would be developed in the future.

Training

The ISEA is also calling on the Government to promote and support solar apprenticeships that allow hands-on experience in solar PV installation, project planning, and maintenance. This is in order to create a sustainable talent pipeline.

In short

  • Policies which relate to the rollout of solar PV directly impact agriculture.
  • Whether rooftop or on land, solar PV is the most widespread and impactful renewable technology for farmers so far.
  • The calls from ISEA include a stop to reducing rooftop solar grants, beginning work on a new scheme to replace RESS, and allowing private wires.