The deadline is almost upon farmers for applications to be submitted to tranche 13 of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS II).

The closing date for the current tranche is tomorrow (Friday, April 5).

As part of the TAMS II update issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in March, Tranche 14 of the scheme will open on Saturday, April 6, and remain open for applications until Friday, July 5.

The current tranche incorporates applications under the: Young Farmers’ Capital Investment Scheme; Dairy Equipment Scheme; Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) Equipment Scheme; Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage Scheme; Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme; Organic Capital Investment Scheme; and Tillage Capital Investment Scheme options.

Meanwhile, from Saturday onwards, farmers will have the option to apply for new investments in renewable energy.

€10 million worth of grants was made available last month by the Department of Agriculture for energy efficiencies and renewable energy technologies, following a comprehensive review of the TAMS scheme designed to increase its focus on sustainability.

Eligible investments include:
  1. Solar PV installation on farms – to extend current availability under the scheme to all sectors. Grant aid in this initial pilot phase of up to €9,300 or up to 60% of the overall cost will be available to fund a 6kWp solar system;
  2. LED Lighting – all lighting funded under the scheme will be required to be LED lighting. LED lighting uses a fraction of the electricity consumed by conventional lighting. The current specifications for TAMS II include lighting in all new farm structures. In future, only LED lighting will now be grant aided.

According to the Department of Agriculture, a solar PV system size for a dairy farm of approximately 5.5kWp combined with a 4.5kWh of battery storage capacity. Grant aid in this initial pilot phase will be to fund a 6kWp solar system.

Costs are based on the cost of installation of a 6kWp solar system; this includes a battery which is necessary to capture the energy output thereby making it economically viable.

At this maximum size the grant provided at the 40% rate would be €6,200 and at 60% it would be €9,300.