Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Some supports are available for SMEs through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Once we get microgeneration off the ground, I intend to see those supports expanded. The experience across Europe is that there are technical challenges with microgeneration. Strengthening the grid to deal with microgeneration output would require a significant amount of investment. In light of electric cars and so forth, the current trend is towards self-consumption. We can provide a cheaper and more effective solution to homeowners through microgeneration and self-consumption. We want to pilot this approach in order to determine whether it can work.

There are 658 applications to connect solar arrays to the grid. This would bring 6.533 GW to the grid. However, the current winter peak demand is 5.5 GW. As such, there is a significant oversubscription to meet existing, not to mention future, demand.

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