Mr. Dudley Stewart:

Gabhaim míle buíochas leis an gcoiste as ucht an glaoch seo chun cur i láthair a dhéanamh os a chomhair. The Micro Electricity Generation Association, MEGA, supports the proposal that microgenerators producing surplus power receive a fair payment for energy exported to the grid. We believe that community microgeneration or bottom-up microgeneration at a local level is what is needed and should be supported at every level in order for Ireland to transition to the inevitable decentralised zero-carbon energy future. We believe citizens and energy groups are the gatekeepers to Ireland's energy transition and, therefore, should be central to decision making and treated fairly with regard to payment for surplus energy but also with regard to their full participation in this energy transition. We support the legislation as proposed when citizens and communities are also central to this. The proposed Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill 2017 must be mindful of the grid connection problem. The Bill thus far does not take account of this as the main barrier to community and microgeneration in Ireland.

MEGA is a not-for-profit research, development and incubation organisation involving active energy citizens, communities, local authorities, research institutes and local and international energy tech companies. MEGA was formed during the consultation process on the 2007 White Paper on energy. Effectively, we are an independent Irish energy research compact. More than a decade after MEGA was established, we are still seeing growing public opposition to and unrest about what is seen by many citizens as Government inaction regarding climate change. MEGA arose out of rising anti-renewables and anti-infrastructure opposition, protest and civil disorder. It recognised early that discontent arose out of decades of utility dominance and rising barriers to microgeneration, with citizens feeling cut off from critical energy solutions and future proofing.

There is growing frustration and anger among citizens globally and in Ireland due to the reality of climate change science and the impacts being felt by those who have done the least to cause the problem. This frustration has led people to take to the streets, as they did over a decade ago and in recent climate action protests, including in schools across the country in the recent climate action strike on 15 March 2019.

For this proposed legislation to have lasting impact and support citizens and all stakeholders in a bottom-up energy transition, there first needs to be clarity on what microgeneration is and the positive socioeconomic impacts it has. The current outdated Government definition of microgeneration virtually excludes all cost-efficient microgeneration solutions. In 2013, the European Parliament defined microgeneration as the small-scale generation by individuals and SMEs in order to meet their own needs and generation for communities for their own use and small groupings such as co-operatives. This means it is not limited to the 25 A or 11 kW considered to be microgeneration. These are the least cost-effective areas that are least amenable to local collaboration.

MEGA unreservedly views microgeneration, in particular community microgeneration, as necessary for Ireland to meet its climate change targets and our commitments to the historic Paris Agreement. The proposed Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill 2017 must be mindful of the grid connection problem. The Bill thus far has not taken this challenge into account and we view this as the main barrier to microgeneration and community microgeneration in Ireland. The Bill will effectively allow more domestic customers to invest in microgeneration as it will be more economically viable to make initial investments in renewable assets. Driving up the number of installations will attract competition and drive down to normal the cost of installation of micro small-scale renewable energy system, RES, installations in Ireland. The cost is very high compared with anywhere else in Europe.

One of the long-term issues will be grid disturbance from microgeneration. For more than a decade, MEGA has spent a great deal of time developing solutions to grid disturbance. Smart regional community energy systems are top of the list in Europe. It is recognised that Ireland is conducting state-of-the-art research with the leading institutions in disturbance-free community energy resolutions. Regulated disturbance neutral microgenerators will not suffer grid connection delays or obstacles. For this to happen, a new community system operator licensing system will be required and additional investment is needed to focus on disturbance neutral microgeneration solutions. This is extremely urgent and as important as a feed-in tariff or payment scheme for microgeneration and communities. These combined pioneering research and pilot projects will make Ireland a leader in the field of both renewable energy and smart grid deployment. This is urgent work of national strategic importance that is deserving of better recognition and resourcing. We need to see more microgeneration to enable us to demonstrate what we are capable of in Ireland.

There is a solution to ensure microgeneration and a fair price for domestic microgeneration in Ireland become a reality. We envisage a future where communities and citizens take charge in securing their energy futures through networks of community microgenerators supported by all key stakeholders.

Microgrids and communities are the logical way towards a safe and balanced grid, where local communities can contribute to the overall effort to achieve zero carbon emissions while also engaging with the undeniable trend of peer-to-peer economy. This is a worldwide phenomenon. Smart M Power is rolling out systems that are grid-supportive and fully community-driven. The energy transition to microgeneration will have lasting impact on the citizens of Ireland, ensuring energy security and energy resilience while also driving economic growth. We are now living in a digital sharing economy in which the future looks bright for community microgeneration and peer-to-peer energy trading and sharing. All stakeholders involved can benefit from this transition and the Micro Electricity Generation Association of Ireland, MEGA, will support any legislation, including this Bill, if it supports a community-focused transition.