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The Irish Department of the Environment, Climate and Communication (DCCAE) is looking to launch a support scheme for microgeneration technologies, such as solar PV.
Currently, there is no support scheme for these technologies – defined as those with a maximum electrical output of 50kW and designed primarily for self-consumption at a property. These technologies include micro-solar PV, micro-hydro, micro-wind and micro-renewable CHP.
Whilst there are a number of grants schemes available to support the deployment of renewables, such as the Domestic Solar PV and Better Energy Communities schemes operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, there is nothing that specifically supports microgeneration.
As such, the DCCAE has developed an outline of such a scheme, with the primary objective of providing a route to market for citizens and communities to generate their own renewable energy and receive a fair and efficient price for doing so.
It builds on the Economic Assessment of Renewable Technologies undertaken to support the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), which was commissioned by DCCAE in 2017. This found that challenges around microgeneration needed to be identified and addressed in order to support its rollout, which will in turn support Ireland in reaching 70% renewable electricity by 2030, a target outlined in the nation's 2019 Climate Action Plan.
DCCAE has now launched a public consultation to gather stakeholder feedback in the hope of informing the delivery of the scheme.
The consultation will run until 5.30pm on Thursday 18 February 2021, with full details on DCCAE’s proposed support scheme available here.