Consultation on Article 26 of the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA)

We have developed a high-level proposal for the inclusion of changes required by the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) in the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).

The aim of this targeted consultation is to gather stakeholder feedback on the proposed approach for the implementation of the NZIA in line with the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1176.

We will host a stakeholder workshop in hybrid format – in-person and online, during the consultation period.

The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment will host a hybrid stakeholder engagement event to mark the launch of the consultation online and in-person at our headquarters in Tom Johnson House, Haddington Road, D04 K7X4 on Wednesday, 15 October 2025. As places are limited, attendees are asked to please register their attendance via the links below:

Online registration here

In-person registration here

RESS is the government's main mechanism to deliver new grid-scale renewable electricity generation capacity. RESS provides support to renewable electricity projects through competitive auctions, ensuring that consumers and businesses benefit from renewable generation at the lowest possible cost.

RESS has been central to:

• increasing the share of renewables in Ireland’s electricity mix
• reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels and protecting households and businesses from international price volatility
• delivering community benefits to areas hosting renewable projects, and
• supporting Ireland’s climate and energy targets

5 RESS auctions have taken place since 2020. These auctions have secured significant volumes of renewable electricity capacity.

EU Context - The Net-Zero Industry Act

It is in this context that the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) was adopted by the EU in 2024 to strengthen manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies within the Union, diversify supply chains, and strengthen strategic autonomy in the energy sector.

Article 26 of the NZIA introduces new requirements for renewable energy support schemes. RESS auctions have so far operated under a price-only mechanism, ensuring cost-efficiency and transparency. However, from 30 December 2025, all relevant auctions must include non-price factors, some of them as a condition to participate in the auction (pre-qualification) and others as an award.

NZIA prescribes that at least 3 mandatory pre-qualification factors must be applied: Responsible Business Conduct, Cybersecurity, and Ability to Deliver. In addition, at least 2 other factors must be included as pre-qualification or award criteria: Resilience and one to choose between Environment Sustainability, Innovation and Energy System Integration. Member States may include any other factors as they consider it appropriate.

Applicants will be required to comply with the three pre-qualification criteria. It is only then that applicants will be allowed to take part in the auction, that is, projects which fail to meet the pre-qualification criteria will be disqualified from the auction.

Award criteria should be scored against predefined benchmarks using a scale. All projects will be ranked based on final score consisting of the aggregation of all factors. The price factor must weigh between 70% and 85% in the final decision. Non-price factors should weigh between 15% and 30%, with each criterion having at least 5% weight.

Post-award verification and enforcement is mandated to ensure that commitments made under award criteria are delivered in practice.

These new criteria will need to be integrated into RESS auction design. However, Member States retain considerable discretion regarding some of the criteria to include, the design of the scoring methodology, the definition of individual factors, the scales applied, and the associated compliance checks.

Our aim is to implement these changes into RESS in a manner that the impact on strike prices and volumes procured are as minimal as possible within the margins provided to Member States to choose the auction parameters.

The consultation document is available for download below.

The closing date for submissions is 5.30pm on Friday, 21 November 2025

Submissions should be sent by email to NZIA-Art26@DCEE.gov.ie or by post to:

NZIA Article 26 Consultation

Renewable Electricity Section

Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment

Tom Johnson House, Haddington Road,

Dublin 4,

D04 K7X4

We are committed to engaging with stakeholders in a clear, open and transparent manner. Any person or organisation can make a submission in relation to this consultation. We will consider all submissions and feedback before we publish the final versions of the RESS 5 Terms and Conditions and the Community Benefit Funds under RESS Rulebook.

Your response to this consultation is subject to:

• the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI)
• the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations 2007-2018 (AIE)
• the Data Protection Act 2018

Publishing of responses

The department will carefully consider all comments and suggestions received and will publish a consultation response. Given the expected volume and the variety of comments, the department does not intend to respond to individual submissions but will group responses and provide an overall response to each consultation topic.

We will redact (remove) personal data before publication.

Please indicate any sensitive information

In responding to this consultation, clearly indicate where your response contains any information which you would not wish to be released under FOI, AIE or otherwise published. This can include:

• personal information
• commercially sensitive information
• confidential information

Read our Data Privacy Notice

We would like to draw your attention to our Data Privacy Notice which explains:

• how and when we collect personal data
• why we do so
• how we treat this information
• your rights in relation to the collection of personal information