Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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58. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the measures he will take to maximise delivery of solar photovoltaic, PV, systems on homes, schools, farm sheds, and community/sporting, commercial and public buildings in 2023; his targets in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9984/23]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I want to ask the Minister of State the measures he will take to maximise the delivery of solar PV systems on homes, schools, farm sheds and community, sporting, commercial and public buildings in 2023; his targets in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The microgeneration support scheme sets out the overall framework to support the growth of microgeneration in Ireland. The scheme targets 380 MW of new microgeneration capacity by 2030.

This amounts to 60,000 homes and 9,000 non-domestic installations, such as small farms, businesses, schools and community groups, generating over 300 GWh of renewable electricity per annum, with the potential to abate 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the lifetime of the installations. The microgeneration support scheme provides support to domestic and non-domestic applicants for installations up to 50 kW. Domestic applicants can apply to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, for a grant of up to €2,400. Non-domestic applicants can also apply for a grant for installations up to 6 kW for the same grant amounts as domestic customers, of up to €2,400. These applicants will also be eligible to avail of the clean export guarantee tariff and any renewable electricity not consumed on the premises of these microgenerators is now eligible for an export payment, which further supports the investment.

The final phase of the microgeneration support scheme will involve the introduction of a clean export premium feed-in tariff to support non-domestic applicants for installation sizes greater than 6 kW, up to 50 kW. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities will consult on an implementation plan for the clean export premium tariff in 2023. Since the introduction of the microgeneration support scheme domestic grant in February 2022, the SEAI has seen application levels rise sharply, with more than 16,000 received in 2022. This is more than double the application levels seen in 2021 under the previous pilot solar PV grant scheme. While the level of interest indicates that the scheme is working, its operation and effectiveness will be kept under review and adjustments made where necessary.

My Department is also developing the small-scale generation scheme for generators above 50 kW to support the deployment of rooftop and ground-mounted solar PV in cohorts that are not as suited to other support measures, such as the renewable electricity support scheme. This scheme is expected to be launched in 2023.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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A number of points arise. There is a significantly increased ambition regarding solar energy, with a goal of 5 GW by 2025, which was announced to great fanfare, but it will take much work to deliver on that. There is significant opportunity at a smaller scale, outside of utility scale, to realise that and to bring people along and have them play their part. There are a number of key elements. We should not be entirely dependent on utility scale and I am concerned that we will end up being dependent. There is a consultation about direct lines, but it has been postponed repeatedly. It was to be delivered in the first quarter of 2023. That has not happened. When will it happen? The Minister of State finished mentioned small-scale generation policy. When will we see that?

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The small-scale generation scheme will be launched later this year. The Deputy asked about legislation relating to private wire, which is to allow transmission of electricity by private sector companies without using EirGrid. I will have to come back to the Deputy with details rather than offer an answer now. There is massively increased ambition for solar roll-out. It is not just for solar farms and it will not be concentrated on a small number of large corporate generators. The aim is to get it onto every agricultural shed in the country. There is significant desire among the agriculture community, with many applications from farmers. This is greatly helped by the fact that we have removed the requirement for planning permission and allowed people to generate money from their excess electricity when they are not there. Every school in the country, every hospital and every public building, as far as possible, will be covered in solar panels. We want this to be a genuine democratic system whereby everybody, insofar as is possible, gets a solar panel on their roof.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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There are unnecessary barriers. It is not the Minister of State's responsibility but as I understand the targeted agriculture modernisation scheme, TAMS, 3 criteria, they are not getting paid for their excess electricity. They still cannot sell back to the grid or export. The community energy grant run by SEAI is available for businesses but there is a level of bureaucracy. We had the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment before the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action last week. It is clear that the system is not working to the degree that it should. There is need and clear cause for a technology-specific auction. A redesign of the auctions should be considered to align with the technology-specific ambition.

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I want as many people to have solar power as possible so that they are taking part and have a sense that they are contributing towards climate action and generating money. I want as many people as possible to take part in this. The Deputy is right to say that the deployment of solar generation is not entirely my responsibility. TAMS is a scheme of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Putting a solar panel on the roof of every school is a Department of Education scheme. We cannot have a situation whereby everything to do with climate action is supposed to be done by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Although I will help those Departments as much as possible, they are the ones to come back to. I understand that funding for TAMS has been greatly increased and that the scheme has been made much simpler as a result of the removal of the planning permission requirements.

The Deputy asked about technology-specific auctions. Our auctions are currently technology neutral. One can apply with any technology. I am not aware of an argument to switch to solar only or to technology-specific applications. The economic theory is that one gets the best answer by making it technology neutral. If the Deputy wants to make a proposal to me for technology-specific auctions, I will give it fair consideration.