Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 April 2026
237. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress being made to support the development of battery power through national planning guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27696/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government 2025 – Securing Ireland’s Future commits to ensure the managed development of solar energy and battery power through the development of national planning guidelines. It also commits to advance battery development and take up to allow portable energy and reduce grid dependence and reaffirms Ireland’s ambitious targets of 8 GW of solar capacity connected to the grid by 2030, to assist with meeting the requirement of 80% of electricity demand supplied by renewables.
My Department will be working closely with the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, who hold overall responsibility for renewable energy policy in order to identify the component factors relevant to the preparation of this National Planning Statement, including any appropriate environmental reporting and public consultation requirements, European obligations such as the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), battery storage facilities and the possible timeframe for publication of the National Planning Statement.
It is important to note that many of the issues concerning battery storage are more appropriate for consideration under building control and fire safety codes, and may be more appropriately dealt with by way of best practice guidance issued through these codes rather than by way of a National Planning Statement.
I am satisfied that the existing and evolving planning system, supported by wider Government renewable energy policy more generally, provides a sufficiently robust policy and legislative framework to facilitate the rollout of solar energy development, including solar energy developments that use battery storage as part of the development, in a sustainable manner and to assist with meeting our renewable electricity requirements while balancing the perspectives of local communities and allowing for public and stakeholder engagement.
In the interim, there are currently no statutory planning guidelines in place in respect of solar energy or battery storage development. Proposals for individual solar energy developments, including developments that include battery storage, are subject to the statutory requirements as other proposed developments, with planning applications made to the relevant local planning authority, or An Coimisiún Pleanála on appeal.
The Programme for Government also committed to a Land Use Review to ensure that optimal land use options inform all relevant Government decisions. The second phase of the Land Use Review, which is currently underway, will seek to identify the key demands on land (both public and private) to inform policies for land use across key government objectives, improving socioeconomic, climate, biodiversity, water, and air quality outcomes. The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are working towards the conclusion of the second stage of the review. Any National Planning Statement on solar energy development or battery storage will take into careful consideration any finding of the Land Use Review.
