Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
ESB AND BORD na Móna have announced a joint agreement to develop solar power in four locations in Roscommon, Offaly and Kildare.
The initiative will generate enough renewable energy to power about 150,000 homes and businesses when it becomes operational in 2019.
The venture will access part of Bord na Móna’s land in locations across the midlands.
The semi-state companies have committed €10 million (€5 million each) to kickstart the project.
Speaking at the launch today, ESB chief executive Pat O’Doherty said the company is “committed to a future where low-carbon electricity powers a low-carbon society”.
“We already have an established position in the solar market in Ireland, with both ground mounted and rooftop solar projects under development.”
O’Doherty added that the new partnership will “help Ireland meet its carbon reduction targets beyond 2020″.
Renewable energy in Ireland is currently predominantly generated from the wind, with the government seeking to introduce more diversity in the sector through biomass, wave, tidal and solar energy.
Emission targets
Mike Quinn, Bord na Móna’s CEO, said community consultation will be “placed at the heart of the project”.
The solar industry, although in its infancy here in Ireland, has the potential to form an important part of Ireland’s future energy mix in the medium to long-term.
Climate Action Minister Denis Naughten also spoke at the launch, noting: “Government policy sets a vision of a low-carbon energy future by 2050 which will include greater levels of energy efficiency and renewable energy with an associated reduction in our dependence on fossil fuels.
“We need to focus on areas where the impact on emissions is greatest, and adopt technologies that are as cost-effective as possible and that fit with our carbon reduction targets.
“We have made great progress in the decarbonisation of our electricity sector with over 25% of our electricity coming from renewable sources. We need to continue this progress in the electricity sector but also increase our efforts in the transport and heating sectors.”
The Environmental Protection Agency has previously criticised the government for being unlikely to reach its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions targets.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Yet no support for the average consumer to put solar panels on their roofs. The people that pay the bills and the PSO get nothing in return.
@Rob Power: Could you imagine put solar panels on roofs of willing homes how much land would be saved. If you got enough homes to do it you probably wouldn’t need any more turf burning generators
@Celtic_Horizon: except at night.
@Rob Power: there was a scale and probably still is. I got a grant for one on my roof…
@Rob Power: I have 17 solar panels. My back roof faces south. I will cover my electricity gas and water bill for the next 25 years without paying a cent. €5,500 with vat refund €4,100. That’s just saved me €250- per month. Do the maths. For those who can’t pay upfront, you can rent or less them. Btw. I live in Holland so if I didn’t pay water rates I would actually earn money from the kw’s that I supply to the grid
@John Brendan Mullen: hang on so you paid 5500 but got 4400 back so you paid 1100 for 17 panels . Either your talking through your hoop or have panels from a calculator
@brian magee: no Brian. Paid €5500- and got the vat back. €1400- so I paid €4100- total. I will pay that off in 2 years and then I am energy free. Next vehicle will be electric and next investment is sun boiler. Going to run rain water into toilet and heating systems. I will be earning money every time the sun rises in 2 years time
@John Brendan Mullen: why not run grey water into your toilet too?
@John Brendan Mullen: How does your oven work when the Sun isn’t shining?
@William Grogan: I have panels. They produce power. What I don’t use goes back to the grid. When I need it at night I take back from the grid. I will obviously produce more in the summer months than I can use. In the winter months I will recover the power I supplied to the grid.
@brian magee: I just said I will run rainwater into toilet and heating systems
@John Brendan Mullen: grey water is the water from your sink, instead if going straight into the drain , fill your toilet with it
When are ESB going to start paying micro generators for the excess power generated?
It is not worth while households installing solar PV until there is some form of rebate for excess energy generated.
But, as usual, the only people getting looked after are the big boys, wind generator’s that the public subsidise and anybody that can install commercial size operations.
@Paul Mac Court: why should they? The market is deregulated, why pay an individual more money for a kWh than they can pay for it on the open market ?
Why should other users subsidise a lifestyle choice?
A few options would be:
1. SEM-O pay you the market rate.
2. Your utility provider stores your energy and credits you with KWh in v kWh out.
3. You size your system accordingly so you utilise all energy that’s converted.
@Paul Mac Court: tesla battery man, store the excess generated power durong the day, use it later tbat night.
@brian magee: Paul didn’t say that the rebate needed to be above market.
A fair price for what’s being fed into the grid would be good
@Paul Mac Court: refer to my comment above.
@kevin: 2.5c/kWh? Is what mass producers get, the admin and billing system to meter and process such a small amount wouldn’t cover that. It’d be running at a loss which would be pushed back on other users.
If you want to be green and profit of PV then invest in a large solar farm. Otherwise just convert what you need
@brian magee: working for energy company Brian is it ? We are paying massive fines for carbon output to the EU. Microgeneration will happen the ESB can’t halt progress. I’m sure the union’s are super anti microgeneration
@scoop delivery: no idea what unions have to do with it. Micro generation will happen yes, ESB launched a PV offering only last week. But
I don’t see benefits of offering REFIT for domestic users as the money has to come from some where and it’ll end up being other users.
I’m all in for it, but it should be self sufficient, and rely on subsidies.
Use excess generation to charge storage heaters during the day, or heat the water, or charge your car, or have your own battery storage. But don’t expect others to pay for it
Another scam for the public to have to soak up. Never any benefit for the consumer. It’ll be sold off in 10 years! We’ll pick up the tab through PSO.
@Willie Gaughan: not burning fossil fuel is a huge benefit and as an island nation reliant on fuel imports our energy independence is of real concern and benefit to us all
@Willie Gaughan: the benefits are an indigenous supply of energy which lessens our heavy dependency on fossil fuel imports, that’s a good thing. It’s a commercial operation though so don’t expect any freebies, these semi state companies are competing effectively with private sector.
@Jangles: these scams don’t and won’t reduce fossil fuel use in the slightest.
@Jangles: while paying a dividend to the stage instead of foreign shareholders
One of the benefits of global warming is more prolonged periods of sunshine.
@Jack Cassady: err if you think that’s the way it works then you are very much mistaken.
Climate change doesn’t change the tilt of the earth or the sunshine location in winter months.
@Jack Cassady: ^^^ a perfect example of how you can’t fix stupid.
Good.
Fed up of British / Scottish companies taking over our supply
I love the way they say ‘develop’. Hasn’t solar power been working quite brilliantly for years now?
@Ian McGrath: we also have houses , hotels and apartments yet we have new developments each day.
There’s always a negative nelly looking…..
@brian magee: Fair enough, I was reading it in the context of ‘developing’ something new and steering clear of current proven technology. I wasn’t trying to be negative about it. Pardon me.
I’m sure they really care about your uneducated opinion. With renewables efficiency isn’t an issue as theirs no raw material. A 50% efficient panel at 1000 euro is better than a 90% panel at 2000 euro.
@brian magee: Interesting to hear you say that efficiency is unimportant.
The less efficient they are at deriving energy from the sun the less effective they will be at competing with or replacing fossil fuels. Investing time and money into solar also comes at an opportunity cost. That time and money could instead have been spent on potentially better renewable energy projects involving wind and wave.
@George Brown: you seem to miss the point a CCGT plant operating at 65% efficiency results in 35% of the gas being wasted which is expensive. A PV panel operating at 65% results in no extra costs. It means instead of you having a 6.5 Sq m panel in your roof you have a 10m
@George Brown: also interesting you save wind, wind is actually using solar but at a max of 1% efficiency, wind is caused by the uneven heating of the earths surface by the sun. Warm air rises and cool air gets sucked in to fill the void.
As for wave , that’s also fro the uneven heating
But there’s also no commercially viable wave energy converter yet. They say we have great waves in Ireland but we also have great storms which will destroy them.
Tidal is slightly different, its lunar based , guaranteed to cone in and out twice a day, forecastable upto something like 111 years, but also a harsh environment which had yet to produce viable converters
@brian magee: interesting stuff
@brian magee: Solar panel efficiency isn’t an issue when it comes to wasting fuel. I get that.
Hmm. I realise you’re talking strictly about fuel efficiency. As opposed to just “efficiency” in the general sense of the word. Synonymous with capability or productiveness. Maybe I’ll use different wording. Instead of saying “efficient” I’ll use the term “productive”.
I’ll summarise what I was trying to say without using a confusing or inappropriate term: I think solar panels won’t be very productive here in Ireland because of our cloudy climate. I think wind is more suitable for us as I imagine it would produce more power per euro invested. I did think wave would be a good investment, and I was actually thinking of tidal when I said that, but you said that’s not really viable at this time.
If I were to hazard a guess, the output of these things will be abysmal most of the year, given the cloudy climate in Ireland. I think wind is the way to go for alternative fuel here. Seawave sounds good too. Especially on the west coast.
But I haven’t researched these things fully. I do wonder how efficient/cost effective renewable energy is compared to fossil fuels when it comes to power plants.
@George Brown: They generate electricity regardless of clouds. 80% of the amount in full sunlight.
@JamFilling: Well that’s that then.
have your say