From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, has welcomed revised planning exemptions for the installation of rooftop solar panels on houses and other buildings, signed by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, last week.
The new regulations will remove the requirement for planning permission for the installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the majority of buildings in the country. This will act as a significant driver of the rollout of micro- and small-scale solar PV generation, increasing Ireland’s generation of solar energy and strengthening our energy security.
The revisions also extend the exemptions to new classes of buildings, such as apartments, community, religious and educational buildings. These changes will have a positive impact, allowing a greater number of people and organisations to generate their own electricity through solar, and in doing so reducing their energy costs and carbon footprint.
By reducing administrative barriers, these regulations will facilitate the achievement of our climate action and renewable electricity targets, particularly the 380MW of installed capacity targeted by the Micro-generation Support Scheme.
Minister Ryan said:
"The signing of these regulations represents the achievement of one of our major Climate Action Plan ambitions, and is a fine example of interdepartmental and cross-government cooperation. The regulations remove a major barrier to those wishing to install solar PV, and will facilitate an even greater number of households, schools, communities, farmers and businesses, among others, to produce their own clean, renewable electricity and play an active role in the energy transition.
"The regulations come at a time when we are continuing to roll out supports for domestic and non-domestic solar PV installations through the Micro-generation Support Scheme, as well as progressing the design of a support scheme for small-scale generation. The new exemptions will open up the huge solar scope that these schemes can provide."
ENDS
Further information on the exemptions is available on the website of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) tariff represents the first phase of a comprehensive enabling framework for micro- and small-scale generators in Ireland, allowing them to receive remuneration from their electricity supplier for all excess renewable electricity exported to the grid.
Following a public consultation, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) published a decision on an interim enabling framework for the CEG on 1 December 2021. The paper is available on the CRU website . This decision outlines the interim arrangements for the implementation of the CEG, including eligibility criteria and the remuneration methodology. The CRU has decided upon a competitive market-based approach to the setting of this tariff, as well as a number of provisions to ensure that its implementation aligns with the National Smart Metering Programme.
All suppliers have now published their CEG tariffs, which range from €13.5c/kWh up to €20c/kWh. This allows customers to shop around and switch suppliers to obtain the best rates for selling and purchasing electricity.
On 15 February 2022, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications signed the regulations which provide the legal basis for the introduction of the CEG.
Many small-scale generators will also be renewables self-consumers, and therefore eligible to receive the CEG.
Further information on the CEG can be found on the CRU website.
On 21 December 2021, Minister Ryan announced government approval of the Micro-generation Support Scheme (MSS).
The MSS has been introduced on a phased basis throughout 2022, rolling out supports for micro-generation technologies up to 50kW.
The MSS now offers supports to new domestic and non-domestic customers in the form of capital grants of up to €2,400 for micro-generation installations up to 6kW.
The final phase of the MSS is expected by end of 2022 when the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) will consult on an implementation plan for the Clean Export Premium (CEP) tariff. The Clean Export Premium is a guaranteed export tariff support for new installations which is fixed for 15 years and will be available to non-domestic applicants between 6kW and 50kW in size.
Further details on the MSS can be found on the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications website.
The Climate Action Plan 2021 commits to the development of a support scheme for small-scale non-domestic renewable electricity generators. These are defined as being above 50kW, but smaller than those supported under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).
The design of the scheme is currently being progressed and is expected to become available in 2023. This scheme will enable larger businesses, farms, community projects and others to maximise their participation in the energy transition.
A consultation on proposed high-level design features of the scheme has now been published and is available on the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications website. The closing date for submissions is Thursday, 13 October 2022.
The Climate Action Plan 2021 provides a detailed plan for taking decisive action to achieve a 51% reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and setting us on a path to reach net-zero emissions by no later than 2050.
The plan lists a series of actions which will be undertaken to deliver on our climate targets in addition to outlining indicative renewable electricity capacity targets of up to 8GW of onshore wind and between 1.5–2.5GW solar PV capacity by 2030. Of this renewable electricity capacity at least 500 MW will be delivered through community-based projects, subject to competition as appropriate.
The government agreement on the Sectoral Emissions Ceilings, announced on 28 July, increased the target for solar PV under the Climate Action Plan from the initial target of up to 2.5GW to a revised target of up to 5.5GW. Targets were also increased for off-shore wind (from 5GW to 7GW), green hydrogen (an additional 2GW), agro-forestry and anaerobic digestion (up to 5.7TWh of biomethane) – to further accelerate the reduction of overall economy-wide emissions.