Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2024
163. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to review the level of grant-aid available to sports clubs for the installation of solar panels considering a 30% grant is insufficient to make the installation of panels by non-profit organisations economically justifiable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7235/24]
View answerThe Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS) was launched in December 2021, with the aim of supporting 380MW of new micro-generation capacity by 2030, under the Climate Action Plan 2021. The scheme provides support to domestic and non-domestic applicants to install solar PV panels, in the form of grants administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
The non-domestic microgeneration scheme commenced on 22nd September 2022, providing support for solar installations up to 6kW to a variety of sectors including schools, businesses, small farms and community enterprises including sports clubs and associations. An extended funding range of up to €162,600 was introduced in July 2023 to support installation sizes up to 1,000 kWp (1 MW) capacity, on a pilot basis. This includes cohorts typically covered under the Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS).
Since the launch of the amended non-domestic microgeneration scheme, there have been over 860 applications with committed costs of over €14 million, amounting to a total installation capacity of approximately 69 MW. While this level of interest suggests the grant scheme is working well, its operation will be kept under review by my Department in conjunction with the SEAI.
Organisations investing in microgeneration are also eligible to avail of the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) tariff, which allows renewable self-consumers to receive payment from their supplier for the excess renewable electricity they export to the grid, reflective of the market value of the electricity. My Department is aware of export tariff rates of between €15.89c/kWh and €25c/kWh currently available, significantly reducing the payback period for a solar PV installation and protecting organisations from higher energy costs into the future.
