2026-04-16

93. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the significant barriers being faced by small-scale renewable energy generation groups and communities; when the review of tariffs will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26175/26]

All across Europe, community energy is thriving, in places like Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland in particular. Communities are building wind and solar farms, district heating systems and energy co-operatives. They are lowering bills, keeping profits local and accelerating the transition, doing exactly what Irish communities want to do. Here, in respect of the small-scale renewable electricity support scheme, SRESS, we are told it is up and running but there are difficulties. I want the Minister of State to outline the problems it is having because only eight projects have qualified and not a single one has actually been built.

The programme for Government commits to promoting the SRESS to simplify market access for communities, SMEs and farmer-owned solar and wind projects. The SRESS export tariff is designed for community, SME and farmer export-only projects above 50 kW to 6 MW. SRESS offers a simpler route to market for those groups, with fixed tariffs for solar and wind. All export projects up to 1 MW can also apply to SRESS, and need not be community, SME or farmer-owned projects. To further support communities, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, provides a range of supports to develop renewable energy projects, including free access to specialist technical advisers and free comprehensive guides, available on the SEAI website. These guides cover various issues such as community groups and governance, stakeholder engagement, business planning and grid connection. The SEAI has also undertaken 13 county-level grid studies to help communities identify economically viable connection areas. In 2025, my Department published an assessment of barriers and potential of development of renewable energy communities, as required by the renewable energy directive. My Department has also secured funding under the European Commission's technical support instrument to further assess barriers and propose recommendations to further support community energy development. This assessment is being carried out by the OECD, with initial policy recommendations due this year, which will help inform future policy approaches. In February 2026, my Department commenced a review of the tariffs available under SRESS. This review is being undertaken to ensure the scheme continues to provide appropriate support. It is expected that the review will be completed later this year. In the meantime, the existing SRESS rates continue to be available and apply until the review process is complete.

I know the review is taking place, but will the Minister of State tell me exactly when it is expected to give its findings? As I said earlier, and as the Minister of State acknowledged, there are barriers. Only eight projects have qualified and not one has been built. While it looks okay on paper, there are serious problems with the scheme in practice. There are massive delays in the enabling grant. There are huge ESB network connection costs. These projects are made almost impossible financially. Having access to the SRESS tariff is another difficulty. It only matters when you are exporting electricity to the grid. It seems to be mired in bureaucratic difficulties and delays. What exactly has the Minister of State mandated the Department review to come up with? Is he trying to remove the barriers or what exactly is he trying to do to make sure that the progressive advances we have seen across Europe can be brought into play here?

I fully accept that the uptake must increase. I know there is one project in Kerry and there is also a project in my own constituency of Mayo. That is exactly what we are working to do, to unlock the barriers. In terms of our commitment, we are reviewing whether 100% community ownership remains the right model. We are also examining options of partnership between communities and developers, and also aligning the tariffs and supports for projects, that they are deliverable, bankable and compliant. We have to do this within the parameters of getting state aid rules right, to ensure we are not putting communities at any financial risk. The Government is very much working to ensure that we can have more viable projects in the pipeline and that they can be delivered faster and with certainty, protect communities and are designed to be simple in nature while having maximum impact.

The Minister of State has not really answered the question, though, as to when exactly the review will take place. Is there a deadline on it? Let us be honest, the problem is that in Ireland there is only one community-owned renewable energy project above the 50 kW level, that is, in Templederry, and that was built more than a decade ago. Since then, there has been a huge demand out there and a huge hunger for sharing the benefits of renewable energy properly within communities. I see it is in the programme for Government, but 18 months later, there seems to be serious stagnation about it. Maybe with a new leader there might be more impetus in getting these kinds of project over the line.

Is the Deputy trying to get rid of me?

When will the review be completed so that things can be pushed forward and the bureaucracy and problems can be ended?

To answer the question, we met as recently as yesterday in regard to it. We hope to have the review published before the end of the year. I understand the urgency around it. We listen to the frustration from communities that are giving their time and energy in trying to get these projects off the ground. We are very much committed to the community-enabling grants. That has not changed and we want to ensure that anything we implement is legally sound and can be delivered safely. That is why we have an independent technical review - the tariff review - under way. Once that is complete, processing enabling grants will be a priority. We will have clarity and certainty for the communities that want to deliver these projects because we know how beneficial they are and we know what impact they will have locally.