Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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74. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his proposals to support the adoption of rooftop solar generation on farms. [11777/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Through TAMS 3, I believe we have delivered a hugely exciting scheme that will deliver for farmers, for the entire agri-food sector and the wider rural economy over the next number of years. I have assigned €370m for TAMS between 2023 and 2027 with a strong focus on supporting this as well as subsequent generation of farmers

TAMS 3 is a hugely exciting scheme with approximately 100 new investment items available to farm families compared to TAMS 2. There are now in the region of 300 investment items in TAMS 3.

To help encourage on-farm renewable technology uptake and usage, grant aid is provided through TAMS to assist farmers in maximising their contribution to the production of renewable energy through the installation of Solar PV technology along with battery storage on Irish farms. There is an overall budget of €370m for the TAMs scheme over its lifetime to end-2027.

To this end, I launched the TAMS 3 Solar Capital Investment Scheme (SCIS) on 22^ndFebruary 2023.

Grant-aided investments under TAMS 3 (SCIS) includes Solar PV Panels and Solar PV Rechargeable Batteries.

An ‘On Farm Solar PV Survey’ must be completed and submitted with the application to quantify the holdings electricity power requirement and the planned electricity supply from the proposed development.

As part of the last budget, I announced that the electricity consumption of the dwelling house can be included on the solar survey as part of the holding for sizing the Solar PV installation. The dwelling house must be occupied by the herd owner or family member and situated on the holding. This continues in TAMS 3 (SCIS).

To encourage take-up in solar applications for TAMS 3 (SCIS), I have increased the kilowatts for solar applications to 62 kilowatts for all applicants. This will bring in more high-energy intensive farms and cover their electricity usage through on-farm generation.

Furthermore, I have increased the rate to a 60% grant and a standalone investment ceiling of €90,000 for solar panels on farms. In a time of rising energy costs, the scheme will enable every farmer to generate their own power for their dwelling and holding and will help to achieve a more sustainable rural economy, assisting farmers in reducing energy costs on their holdings.

It should also be remembered that there are other state supports for the installation of solar panels, including from the SEAI and all farmers should be examining all options for support. This can be installed in tandem with the TAMS investment for those farmers who wish to do this at scale and is a further option for those keen to explore renewable energy generation.