Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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183. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department analysed developing micro-electricity production in the State and the feasibility of providing grant aid for hydro projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41683/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently no grant schemes for micro-hydro or micro-generation technologies other than Solar PV, supported by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). SEAI have advised that significant investment in new processes and systems development would be required to include these within the Micro-generation Support Scheme (MSS). Given the low numbers estimated for these technologies in Ireland (with ESB Networks reporting approximately 99% of new microgeneration connections being Solar PV), SEAI have indicated that the cost to support micro-wind would be relatively high, and that further assessment is required to determine if the advantage of extending the scheme outweighs the associated costs.

It should be noted that the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) already allows eligible customers with microgeneration systems to sell surplus electricity back to the grid and receive payment through their electricity supplier. The CEG is available to all eligible renewable self-consumers, including households with domestic wind energy production.

The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) published a decision for the CEG which outlines arrangements for implementation of the tariff, including eligibility criteria and remuneration methodology. More information on the CEG is available on the CRU website, www.cru.ie.