Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Programme for Government commits to expanding and incentivising micro-generation to help people generate renewable electricity for their own use and sell excess electricity back to the grid.My Department outlined proposals for a new Micro-generation Support Scheme (MSS) in a public consultation that closed in February last. A summary report of the submissions received has been published on my Department's website.

While the primary aim of a micro-generation scheme is to enable a household to meet its own electricity needs, it is intended that a suitable payment for excess electricity generated on site and exported to the grid will be available to all renewables self-consumers later this year, subject to regulatory arrangements, and in line with transposition of Articles 21 and 22 of the recast Renewable Energy Directive. My Department is engaging with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel on transposing these Articles into Irish law and it is envisaged that this will be achieved before year end 2021.

It is expected that the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) will publish a draft framework in the coming weeks which will outline the details, including eligibility criteria and timescales for introduction, of the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) payment for exported renewable electricity. This framework will introduce an obligation on all electricity suppliers to offer remuneration to their customers, by way of a payment, for excess renewable electricity exported to the grid by eligible micro- and small-scale generators. This would give effect to the above-mentioned articles and allow for the commencement of export payments to micro- and small-scale generators, by their suppliers.