Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2022
90. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if there is grant aid available to businesses who want to install climate friendly electricity generating measures to reduce energy costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31945/22]
View answerBusinesses that use a large amount of electricity will benefit most when they consume electricity on site from their own micro-generation. Residual electricity is eligible for a market-based export tariff. The financial business case for micro-generation for these high electricity users is already strong, with short payback periods based on self-consumption and export payments alone.
With regard to grant aid, there are a wide range of capital supports funded by my Department and administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), which can or will support businesses to invest in the micro-generation of renewable electricity.
These include the Micro-Generation Support Scheme (MSS), which will be available to businesses in the coming months and will offer a capital grant to a maximum of €2,400 for solar PV installations up to 6.0kW.
Additionally, Solar PV is one of a range of measures supported under the Community Energy Grant scheme, which makes grant funding available to community partnerships to improve the energy efficiency of the building stock in their area and is open to domestic and non-domestic applications.
The Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) tariff is available from suppliers to new and existing micro-and small-scale generators for excess renewable electricity they export to the grid, reflective of the market value.
In Q3 of this year the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) will consult on an implementation plan for the Clean Export Premium (CEP) tariff, a guaranteed export tariff support for new installations, which is fixed for 15 years for non-domestic applicants for installations greater than 6.0kW up to 50kW in size.
The Climate Action Plan 2021 also commits to the development of a support scheme for small-scale generation (above 50kW) for implementation in 2023.
