A proposal on the supports to be offered to farms, homeowners, schools and businesses under the Micro-generation Support Scheme will be submitted to government later this year.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan announced in January of this year that the new scheme would allow for people to generate their own electricity, such as from solar panels on their roofs, and receive a “fair price when they sell the excess into the grid”.
In response to parliamentary questions, Minister Ryan said that under the Climate Action Plan, a micro-generation working group, chaired by his department, is developing an enabling framework for micro-generation, “which tackles existing barriers and establishes suitable supports within relevant market segments”.
Suitable payment for excess electricity generated
“While the primary aim of a micro-generation scheme is to enable a household to meet its own electricity needs, it is intended that a suitable payment for excess electricity generated on site and exported to the grid will be available to all renewables self-consumers later this year,” the minister explained.
This will be subject to regulatory arrangements, in line with transposition of Articles 21 and 22 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.
“It is expected that the Commission for Regulation of Utilities [CRU] will publish a draft framework in the coming weeks which will outline the details, including eligibility criteria and timescales for introduction of the Clean Export Guarantee [CEG] payment for exported renewable electricity,” Minister Ryan continued.
“This framework will outline the approach to the rate of remuneration under the CEG, as determining such matters is the responsibility of the CRU.
“This would give effect to the above-mentioned articles and allow for the commencement of export payments to micro- and small-scale generators, by their suppliers.”
Earlier this year, a public consultation was held and the department is now developing a final scheme design for the MSS “which incorporates feedback from the consultation and subsequent additional analysis”.
There were 875 submissions to the public consultation – 158 industry and 717 general public submissions.
“It is envisaged that a proposal on the supports to be offered to homeowners, farms, schools and businesses under the MSS, which may include grants or premium tariff payments for new installations, will be submitted to government later this year,” the minister added.