Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 October 2022
174. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of solar photovoltaic installations targeted for 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48608/22]
View answerSolar PV panels are installed under a number of scenarios and are supported under a number of Department funded and SEAI administered schemes. For domestic installations, solar PV is installed on new homes, as one of the measures to achieve compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations. They are also installed on existing buildings through grant supports offer by Government, through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
The Government approved the Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS) in December 2021 to support 380 MW of new micro-generation by 2030 under the Climate Action Plan. This amounts to 60,000 homes and 9,000 non-domestic installations, such as small farms and businesses, schools and community groups etc, which would generate over 300 GWh of renewable electricity per annum, with the potential to abate 1.4 million tonnes of CO2eq over the lifetime of the installations.
Since 2018, the SEAI has supported the installation of domestic Solar PV systems for over 12,000 homes and with demand for the domestic Solar PV grant increasing significantly throughout the year, we expect that grant applications will exceed 12,600 in 2022 alone. Since the introduction of the MSS domestic grant in early 2022 applications levels are up 250% year on year. For 2023, the SEAI is forecasting to support over 12,500 homes and over 1,000 small businesses and community organisations.
In addition to the MSS offering grant support to domestic and non-domestic applicants for renewable installations up to 6kW, these applicants will also be eligible to avail of the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) tariff. As such, any residual renewable electricity not consumed on the premises of these microgenerators is now eligible for an export payment; which further supports the investment.
