Ireland should ramp up supports for renewable energy generation by farmers and other small businesses rather than continue to subsidise “expensive fossil fuels”, the Micro-Renewable Energy Federation (MREF) has claimed in its pre-Budget submission.

A total restructuring of the supports for solar PV must be central to this policy re-set given the large numbers of TAMS rejections in recent tranches, MREF stated.

Pointing out that the Government will have spent over €1 billion subsidising fossil fuel costs by the end of September this year, MREF chair Ciaran Kells maintained that a fraction of this amount spent on renewables could deliver a “truly massive return for the country”. Investing €100m per year in grant-aiding the installation of solar PV and battery storage systems could see homes, farms and businesses generate enough energy to power 100,000 homes for decades, he added

ADVERTISEMENT