Government urged to hasten payments for surplus solar power ahead of feared energy shortages

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The government has been urged to hasten efforts to reimburse people who sell excess renewable energy that they produce ahead of a feared national shortage in the winter

Image: Alamy Stock Photo Image: Alamy Stock Photo THE GOVERNMENT HAS been urged to hasten efforts to reimburse people who sell excess renewable energy that they produce ahead of a feared national shortage in the winter.

Several suppliers told The Journal they plan to issue payments, which will be backdated as far as February, in the coming weeks and months. Climate Minister Eamon Ryan previously stated that eligible microgenerators would start to receive payments from 1 July, depending on their billing cycle. “We have an energy crisis and the cost of installing solar PV has escalated as well, but yet the government doesn’t seem to be veering anywhere from where they’re at,” said Pat Smith, chair of the Micro-Renewable Energy Federation.

“This date recognises that suppliers require time to develop the necessary systems and processes needed to make payments to customers, following the date that export data was first made available to suppliers by ESB Networks,” the spokesperson said. Arden Energy, Pinergy and SSE Airtricity are offering microgenerators a rate of 17.5 cent, 13.5 cent and 14 cent per kilowatt hour respectively.

In a statement this week, Laois-Offaly Independent TD Carol Nolan also described being contacted by people who are ‘increasingly frustrated’ by a lack of timeline from their supplier on when they will receive payment or being passed between different points of contact for documentation.She said the minister should “directly intervene” with suppliers and ESB Networks to try to resolve matters quickly, saying it was unfair for people to be “continually kicked from pillar to post”.

Senator Boylan said that the microgeneration support scheme “absolutely” should have happened sooner in the context of the current pressure on the energy system.“I know, maybe from EirGrid’s perspective, it’s only a small amount of electricity in the grand scheme of what they’re facing in terms of demand, but there’s two elements to it.

“Every kilowatt hour that somebody makes in their home is one that doesn’t have to be made somewhere else. Scaling it up is definitely important,” Bolger said. Under the Climate Action Plan 2021, a final High-Level Design for the Microgeneration Support Scheme was due to be published in the first three months of the year.

 

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