Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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179. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the percentage of the country’s electricity that he envisages solar panels could provide; when this can be achieved; if he will consider fully grant aiding the provision of solar panels to increase the country’s security of electricity supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57540/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland has set an ambitious target to increase the share of electricity demand generated from renewable sources to up to 80% by 2030. As part of the agreement on the sectoral emissions ceiling during summer 2022, the Government announced an increased target of up to 5.5 GW of solar PV generation by 2030. The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is one of the major Government policies to help deliver on Ireland’s renewable electricity targets. The first RESS auction is expected to deliver circa 1,000 MW of new renewable generation (c. 579 MW of which is solar), an approximate 15% increase in Ireland’s current renewable energy generation capacity, by the end of 2023.

The second RESS auction (RESS 2) was held this year and is expected to deliver an increase of nearly 20% in Ireland’s renewable energy generation by the end of 2025. At the end of October, my Department published a consultation on the design of the third RESS auction (RESS 3), which will take place next year.

The Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS) offers support to domestic and non-domestic applicants for renewable installations up to 50kW, including through capital grant supports.  The MSS aims to support the installation of  an estimated 380 MW of new micro-generation (primarily Solar PV) by 2030, which would generate over 300 GWh of renewable electricity per annum.

In addition, a new Solar PV scheme for vulnerable customers registered as being dependent on electrically powered assistive devices, is currently being finalised. This €20m scheme is targeted to provide direct support to over 3,000 vulnerable customers who may have limited opportunity to reduce their demand, providing them with a 2 KW solar PV system and hot water diverter.

My Department is also progressing the design of a Small-Scale Generation Support Scheme (SSG), to support renewable electricity generators above 50kW but smaller than those supported under the RESS. This scheme  is expected to become available in 2023.

Grant supports for solar PV installations are also included amongst the measures under the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) Better Energy Communities scheme. Farmers can also receive grant supports for solar PV for on-farm use under several of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS).