David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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196. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the way in which local authority tenants can be supported and encouraged to install PV panels on the roofs of their houses in order to reduce energy costs; the permission or otherwise that is required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58017/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Under the Micro-generation Support Scheme (MSS), the Sustainable energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers capital grants for both domestic and non-domestic applicants for solar PV installations up to 6.0kW with grant levels up to a maximum of €2,400 available. In addition, suppliers are now required by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) to offer a Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) tariff to new and existing micro-and small-scale generators, so that they receive payment for excess renewable electricity that they export to the grid, reflective of the market value.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage will invest a further €85 million as part of the Local Authority Retrofit Programme in 2022. Approximately 36,500 local authority homes will be retrofitted in the next decade under the Local Authority Retrofit Programme. These homes will be brought to a B2/cost optimal standard with a heat pump. This programme of work will not only benefit Local Authorities in assisting them in the upgrade and maintenance of their housing stock but will also directly benefit householders with an enhanced level of comfort and lower fuel costs. Further information would be available from the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage.

The forthcoming recast version of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the negotiation of which is led the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, includes provisions around optimising the solar energy generation potential of new and existing buildings, including Local Authority housing.