Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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112. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to incentivise farmers to provide solar panels on farms for their own use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35101/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Businesses, including farms, that use a large amount of electricity will benefit most when they consume electricity on site from their own micro-generation. Residual electricity is eligible for a market-based export tariff. The financial business case for micro-generation for these high electricity users is already strong, with short payback periods based on self-consumption and export payments alone.

On the 15 February this year I signed the Regulations that create an obligation on suppliers to offer the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) tariff to new and existing micro-and small-scale generators so that they will receive payment for excess renewable electricity they export to the grid, reflective of the market value.

Solar panels are supported under the Department for Agriculture, Food and Marine’s Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme, as well as the Young Farmer’s Capital Investment and Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage schemes, as part of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS).

The Micro-generation Support Scheme (MSS) provides capital grants for non-domestic applicants such as farms for solar PV installations up to 6.0kW primarily for self-consumption, with grant levels up to a maximum of €2,400 available. This will be administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and will become available in the near future.

In Q3 of this year the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) will consult on an implementation plan for the Clean Export Premium (CEP) tariff, a guaranteed export tariff support for new installations which is fixed for 15 years for non-domestic applicants for installations greater than 6.0kW up to 50kW in size.

The Climate Action Plan 2021 also commits to the development of a support scheme for small-scale generation (above 50kW). The design of the scheme is being progressed in 2022 and it will become available next year.