Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher has urged the Department of Agriculture to provide clarity on the decision to apply for European Commission funding for grant aid for solar panels, which includes a ban on farmers selling surplus electricity to the national grid.
Under the TAMS III Solar Capital Investment Scheme, farmers are only permitted to use the electricity generated from grant aided solar panels on their farms and won’t be able to sell significant volumes back to the grid.
Kelleher, a member of the European Parliament’s environment committee, recently received a written response from European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, who confirmed that the ban only applies in specific situations, and that the Department had other options available that would have allowed farmers to profit from excess electricity sales.
The Commissioner also stated that the Department could have applied under Measures 4.3, 6 or 7, which do not impose restrictions on selling surplus electricity to the grid.
Publicly explained
Kelleher believes that the Department's decision not to apply under these measures needs to be publicly explained, as farmers are understandably frustrated at the loss of potential income.
“We need to know why the Department did not make the application under alternative measures,” Kelleher explained.
“All we have heard from departmental spokespeople is that the prohibition is decided at EU level and has nothing to do with Ireland. This is disingenuous at best,” he said.
Kelleher argues that it is unreasonable to have sought EU funding in this manner and that the decision-making process needs to be clarified.
SHARING OPTIONS