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

Solar energy is a growing source of electricity and is rapidly transforming Ireland's energy system, with more than 1 GW of solar generation now in place. This includes more than 400 MW of rooftop solar and nearly 600 MW of grid-scale solar connected.

The renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, has driven significant investment in solar energy in Ireland and has led to a major acceleration in the delivery of solar power to the grid over the past 24 months. RESS has more than 2 GW of solar projects contracted and due to deliver between 2024 and 2027, while further volumes are expected to connect under corporate power purchases in the same period. Further auction rounds, including RESS 4 later this year, can be expected to see continued participation by solar.

In addition to RESS, the microgeneration support scheme and the small-scale renewable electricity support scheme will underpin the delivery of rooftop and small-scale solar energy, including through the provision of grants to support rooftop solar at domestic and commercial level.

Aligning local development plans with national targets for solar and onshore wind, the development of and investment in the electricity network, as well as grid connection rules that enable the rapid deployment of renewables, are also critical to meeting our 2030 solar target. The accelerating renewables task force has been established to co-ordinate and track delivery of a work programme to achieve the 2030 targets for onshore renewables set out in the climate action plan.

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