Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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68. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the development of microgeneration; when persons will be able to sell power back to the grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45098/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Programme for Government commits to prioritising the development of micro-generation, letting people sell excess power back to the grid by July 2021. The measures set out below will assist in delivering this commitment.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) published a Roadmap for the Clean Energy Package’s Electricity and Renewables Directives in March last year, which provided for a public consultation on the regulatory framework for prosumer development later that year. The document is available on the CRU website www.cru.ie.

A Micro-Generation working group, chaired by my Department, is developing an enabling framework for micro- generation which tackles existing barriers and establishes suitable supports within relevant market segments. The proposed support mechanism is outlined in a public consultation which opened on 14th January 2021.

A suitable payment for excess electricity generated on site and exported to the grid will be available to all microgenerators by 2021 in line with Articles 21 and 22 of the recast Renewable Energy Directive. As regards the other Articles of the Directive, I have already given effect to the relevant provisions of Articles 4 and 6, relating to support schemes for energy from renewable sources, through the European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations 2020. It is intended that all relevant provisions of the Directive will be transposed into Irish law prior to the transposition deadline of 30 June 2021.