Moving Towards a Sustainable Future: Irelands’s Grants to Reduce Solar PV Panels Cost

 

The scene today is a lot different from what it was in the past few years. Ireland is gravitating towards a sustainable future by stepping up its efforts to leverage renewable energy sources, the most popular being solar power. It’s not a miracle though, but a dedicated initiative of the Irish Government to support the transition. Otherwise, how do you imagine homeowners and businesses could have afforded the high solar PV panels cost?

There have been solar panel grants to assist eco-conscious individuals in successfully making the switch from natural resource-exhausting energy sources to clean and green ones. Let us view them one by one to check what grants are available for anyone planning to install the best solar PV panels in Ireland.

Solar PV Grants and Incentives Introduced by the Irish Government

With a target of generating 80% of the electricity from renewable sources by 2030, Ireland is working hard to change the priorities of homes and commercial buildings towards solar power (Source: Power Technology, 2023). Do you think any part of this objective is possible without its greener incentives? The Government is providing grants for solar power installations across Ireland. Here are a few you must know about:

·       Solar Schools Grant

Under this scheme, the Irish Government has promised to fund solar PV system installation within primary and secondary schools. A part of the budget for 2023 has been reserved for it to lower the carbon footprint of schools and cut energy bills. The authorities aim to fund a maximum of 50% of solar PV panel’s cost involved in installation (Source: Caldor Solar, 2023).

·       SEAI Domestic Solar PV Grant

It’s one of the most popular grants in Ireland, empowering homeowners to reduce the installation cost of solar PV panels within their properties through a grant worth €2,400. However, an applicant applying for the grant has to fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

1.     The property of the applicant must have been built before 2011

2.     The homeowner must involve only an SEAI-registered installer

3.     There must be compliance with other significant Irish standards

Expect your initial PV installation expenses to plummet with this grant.

·       TAMS II PV Grant

Also recognised as the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme, the PV grant is earmarked for farmers. Anyone belonging to the occupation and looking for an opportunity to invest in renewable energy gets it. Under it, the Government has agreed to pay up to 40% of the eligible expenses towards solar PV installation in farms, with the maximum amount capped at €90K (Source: Caldor Solar, 2023). The scheme covers almost all the major farm types, including dairy, tillage and pig and poultry farms.

·       SEAI Non-Domestic Microgen Grant (NDMG)

It’s aimed at organisations working their way to improve their sustainability image. Through its financial assistance, it is covering the solar PV panel installation cost on-site to lower the over-reliance of businesses on grids. Applicants who have applied for it have reported saving €2,000 to €3,000, depending on their installation size.

·       Better Energy Communities Scheme

BEC is a community-based grant program that supports renewable energy projects happening in local communities. It works by motivating businesses, public-sector organisations and community groups to unite over projects where the motive is to lower carbon emissions and energy consumption. Eligible projects can be anything, including solar panel installation, where the Government funding is up to 50% of the project expense. Here, community groups are eligible for more financial support than businesses.

·       Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS)

This one is aimed at encouraging renewable energy adoption among community groups, households, and businesses. It offers financial support to them when installing microgeneration technologies, one of which is solar PV systems. Here, the assistance is not only from an installation cost perspective but also from export tariffs on the generation of excess electricity. Currently, 60,000 homes have registered themselves as microgenerators, thereby establishing hope for a sustainable future ahead (Source: Power Technology, 2023).

Final Thoughts:

It is spearheading the transformation through a quick switch to clean and green renewable energy to generate electricity, from encouraging home and commercial buildings to install solar PV panels through the provision of a range of awards to creating one for everyone. So, if you have the best solar PV panels in Ireland in mind, go ahead and install them. Don’t worry about the expense, as most of it will be reimbursed by the Irish Government.

Remember to seek the support of Alternative Energy instead of Electric Ireland for solar PV installation to navigate the world of grants and check your eligibility criteria. In the comparison part, we leave it to the readers because “a word to the wise is enough”.