The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) supports communities in a variety of ways including a separate category for community projects and a mandatory community benefit fund for every project supported in the scheme.
All projects seeking support in the scheme must have planning permission for their projects secured in advance of bidding into a RESS auction. The planning process is therefore separate but it is expected that project developers will have engaged positively with communities in the design of their projects with a view to ensuring a mutually beneficial delivery of the project through the national planning process.
Most renewable electricity generation in Ireland to date has been derived from onshore wind projects. Reflecting this, and the importance of community engagement in such projects, my Department published a voluntary Code of Practice for Wind Energy Development in 2016.
All RESS projects must have a Community Benefit Fund, which for the 68 projects successful in the first RESS auction means nearly €4 million per annum going into the communities in the vicinity of these projects. On 7 July last, my Department published a set of Good Practice Principles for the operation of these Funds which is available on www.gov.ie. One of the most important of these principles is that communities are placed at the heart of the decision making process.
Community renewable electricity projects that are applying for support through the RESS must make the application in conjunction with a Sustainable Energy Community, thereby ensuring a joined up approach to the development of community energy in Ireland. Last week I announced details of an enabling framework of supports available via the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to encourage community electricity generation, including a dedicated contact phoneline, an information warehouse and a variety of technical and financial supports.
