Mr. Rory Somers:

The clean export guarantee tariff is set by the individual suppliers. The CRU which is the energy regulator, has decided that the suppliers should set the tariffs on a competitive basis and compete for that business from micro and small-scale generators. These tariffs should be related to "the market value of that electricity". That is the language included in the directive that was transposed into Irish law. What that really means is that the tariffs should be reflective of the wholesale value of the electricity. Those tariffs are set by the supplier. We know that at least one supplier has advertised a tariff on its website that is in excess of 10 cent per kWh. There is talk of another supplier going even higher. We have yet to see some of the largest players come into the market with their tariffs. Those tariff levels and quantities that I am referring to are particular to the wholesale market and, as we know, energy prices are very high at the moment. To set people's expectations, I will note that they may not always be that high.

The Senator referenced what people are paying for electricity. He will have heard it said that, in the first instance, solar PV should be installed for the purpose of one's own consumption. If you are consuming the renewable energy you are generating yourself, the saving you make offsets the cost of electricity you are buying from your energy supplier. The value of that electricity is a lot higher than the clean guarantee tariff for any energy you export to the grid. That means that it is clearly of optimum benefit to people with renewable generation capacity to consume the maximum possible proportion of the electricity they generate and to export only the smallest amount of residual energy because it will always be of less value when exported to the grid.

With regard to solar panels and batteries, perhaps what the Senator is referring to is that, in the pilot microgeneration support scheme for domestic solar PV, there was a requirement to meet a minimum building energy rating, BER, of C. That meant that people had to choose whether to take energy efficiency measures to meet that standard at the time they were planning to install solar PV. With regard to the ability to take a single measure rather than multiple measures, that has been addressed in the new microgeneration support scheme. The requirement to have a minimum BER rating has been removed for domestic applicants so you can do solar PV as a single measure and be free to take energy efficiency measures at a later date. However, the most benefit and the quickest payback on any investment in retrofitting a home will always come from energy efficiency measures. The energy you do not use is the most valuable energy. Reducing your energy consumption is of more benefit to you than producing solar-generated electricity.

On another point relating to batteries and whether there is a need to install batteries, there is no absolute need to install batteries but they can help you to manage the profile of electricity produced during daylight hours and the consumption of electricity in the daytime and early evening, when there is no generation happening. That can increase your self-consumption and, as I mentioned earlier, increasing self-consumption is the best way to get payback on your investment. Battery costs are high, however. In the work we did in assessing eligibility, costs and the requirements of the microgeneration support scheme and the grants in particular, we recognised that battery costs are still very high relative to investment in solar. We therefore do not require people to install a battery to avail of the grant support. Previously, if you were looking for grant support above 2 kW, you had to install a battery to avail of the additional grant moneys available for installations of up to 4 kW. That requirement has been removed. However, in parallel with that, the direct support for batteries has been removed. This means that the overall investment can be lower for people.

This is being done at a time when, in parallel with that decision, the clean export guarantee tariff is in place, so people can use that residual electricity and be remunerated by their supplier for exporting it to the grid. We believe that we will keep that relationship between grant values and the requirements around battery supports under review on an ongoing basis because, in the same vein as solar panel costs having come down substantially, by up to 70% or 80%, over the past ten years, battery costs are on a similar trajectory. However, it is too early yet to mandate battery installation.

The last thing I will say about batteries is that, at the time when decisions on the development of the microgeneration policy were taken, we did not have the energy crisis we have today causing energy security to come to the fore. One of the key features that we will keep under review is the role of batteries in improving overall energy security.

In terms of applications for export connections, domestic and small-scale users will typically connect to the distribution grid, as a result of which their applications go to ESB Networks. A solar installer will commonly make that application on behalf of the grant applicant. Approved installers registered with the SEAI are very familiar with the process and understand the requirement to register for export. However, the application can also be made by the householder. There is a lot of information on microgeneration available on ESB Networks' website and on our Department's website.