Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 October 2025
151. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the amount of uptake of the non-domestic microgen grant scheme for electricity used on farms to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54205/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe second phase of the Micro-generation Support Scheme (MSS) commenced on 22 September 2022 when the SEAI extended the solar PV grant scheme to the non-domestic sector, including schools, businesses, small farms and community enterprises, for installations up to 6kW.
An extended funding range from €2,700 to €162,600 was introduced in July 2023 to support non-domestic installation sizes between 7 kWp and 1,000 kWp (1 MW) capacity, on a pilot basis to the end of 2023. This includes cohorts typically covered under the Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS).
Since its launch, the amended Non Domestic Micro Generation (NDMG) scheme has proved an overwhelming success and as such, it has now been extended for 2025, at the same level of grant supports for installations up to 1 MW.
The total approved applications on the NDMG scheme in the Agriculture Forestry and Fishery sector amounts to €2,452,197 which equates to 165 applications. Of this, SEAI have paid out €1,240,730 (127 applications) and will result in a installed capacity of over 10 MW.
There have been a wide range of sectors supported within agriculture such as beef, dairy, poultry, pig, tillage, cultivation (potato) as well as horticulture. There is a good geographic spread of farms supported with almost every county in the country having been supported with a NDMG grant.
The TAMS (Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme) by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine also provides very attractive grants for Solar PV including Battery Storage for systems designed to meet the on-site requirements of the farm. An agricultural applicant is free to apply to either scheme depending on what suits their situation. An applicant cannot apply to both schemes for same installation.
