Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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277. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will update the current policy for providing funding to schools for the installation of solar panels to allow for ground-based panels as well as roof-mounted panels (details supplied). [10435/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Schools PV Programme provides eligible schools with up to 6 kilowatts peak of roof-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) installations on their roofs, which equates to approximately 14 solar panels.

The Schools PV Programme is funded by the Government’s Climate Action Fund which is managed by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications in line with the Government’s recognition that taking action on climate change is central to Ireland’s social and economic development. It is assisting schools in reducing their energy costs and carbon footprint as part of the response to meeting the 2030 and 2050 Climate Action Plan targets for the schools’ sector.

The requirement for the PV panels be roof-mounted is a funding condition and is intentional so as to maximise solar gathering and to provide the panel installation with maximum physical protection from accidental damage or vandalism. As a result, they tend to be more visible than other renewable technologies and are therefore more likely to generate discussion and awareness among the wider local community, particularly in schools, given the large throughput of students and their families on a daily basis.

The overall programme will see up to 24 megawatts of installed renewable energy provision on schools with associated savings in the region of €5.5 million per year across 4,000 schools.

As well as the obvious financial and climate benefits, the visibility of the solar panels on schools is also delivering the added benefit of encouraging discussion and uptake of the technology in the wider community.

The installation of solar PV panels schools directly assists schools to reduce their carbon emissions and energy costs, while also educating pupils and the wider school community about the benefits of solar technology.

Since the launch of the programme in November 2023, more than 3,294 schools have progressed to tender stage for the installation of PV panels with more than 1,065 installations confirmed as completed so far.