Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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224. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the total number of households that have installed solar photovoltaic panels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37068/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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There is no single register for the number of households that have installed Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Solar PV panels are installed under a number of scenarios.

Firstly, Solar PV is installed on new homes, as one of the measures to achieve compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations. These panels are not eligible for Government supports.

Secondly, Solar PV panels are installed on existing buildings through grant supports offered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

Up to the end of June this year the SEAI has supported the installation of domestic Solar PV systems for 11,581 homes since 2018, which has resulted in an installed capacity of domestic Solar PV of 45.1 MW. This translates to an average size of an installed system of 3.9 kW. Furthermore, we expect that the SEAI will support 6,600 homes in 2022 to install Solar PV systems.

Finally, ESB Networks (ESBN) report that almost 33,000 microgenerators have registered for an export grid connection.