Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The domestic solar photovoltaic, PV, grant scheme under the microgeneration support scheme is administered on behalf of my Department by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. The current scheme came into operation in February 2022 and built on the success of a previous pilot version of the scheme. Since 2019, over 36,500 homes have been supported under the scheme. In 2022, there were 10,017 completed installations and to date in 2023, there have been 17,766 completed installations. To date, over 24,000 homes have been awarded the maximum solar PV grant available at the time.

No adjustments to the administration of the domestic solar PV grant were announced as part of budget 2024. However, a planned mid-scheme review of the microgeneration support scheme, MSS, is currently under way, which will provide an update on its performance and total projected cost, as well as any recommendations for improving its effectiveness. In line with the parameters set forth in the MSS final scheme design, the maximum grant for 2024 will be €2,100.

On the scheme budget, 2022 saw a significant rise in demand with over double the level of funding provided compared to 2021, at over €24.4 million, and 2023 is expected to be even more successful, with grants projected to reach over €55 million by the end of the year, in support of over 22,000 households. The budget for 2024 will be based on demand but given the strong level of interest in solar PV, it is expected to be similar to this year.

On the number of households that are feeding electricity into the grid, while there is no single register to record the number of microgenerators exporting at any one time, ESB Networks maintains a register of NC6 submissions, which records the number of microgenerators that have had their export capabilities registered. As of 3 November this year, ESB Networks has received 73,286 valid NC6 form applications from microgenerators nationwide, which amounts to approximately 273 MW of electricity generation capacity.

See this speech in context