TAMS III has officially opened for applications, with funding for solar investments the first tranche to open.

The Solar Capital Investment Scheme (SCIS) includes enhanced grant aid of 60% and farmers can include the energy demand of one dwelling house per holding in the sizing of the solar panel array.

The scheme will enable every farmer to generate their own power and will reduce energy costs on their holdings, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said.

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The minister has also increased the size of the available solar investments from 11kW to 62kW.

“This is the beginning of an exciting and bright future for on-farm energy generation. I know solar TAMS will be of huge interest to farmers and I encourage everyone to look closely at the scheme to see if it will work for them,” the minister said.

Adoption of sustainable energy practices at farm level, including energy efficiency, deployment of renewables at farm level and the provision of agriculture feedstocks for renewable energy generation, is a key climate pillar for the agriculture sector, he said.

Ceilings

The investment ceilings have been reset which means every farmer who applied under TAMS II can also apply under TAMS III

The investment ceiling for solar will be increased to €90,000 per holding for the duration of the scheme. This means every eligible farmer will be able to apply for the maximum ceiling of €90,000 for SCIS along with a ceiling of €40,000 for the Low Emission Slurry Scheme (LESS) and an increased ceiling of €90,000 for all other TAMS III schemes.

Minister of State Pippa Hackett explained that farmers already have on-farm solar panels and have seen the benefits of them, especially given the increase in energy costs in recent months.

“The Solar Capital Investment Scheme now offers the opportunity for even more farmers to install solar PV on their rooftops and reap the benefits. This continues our approach to encouraging farmers to become more sustainable and assisting them to do so. I would encourage farmers across the country to look at this scheme and see if they can benefit,” she said.

Minister of State Martin Heydon said farmers have expressed a real willingness to invest in renewable technologies.

“I look forward to the rollout of this really attractive solar element in TAMS being a very tangible example of that,” he said.