TAMS to lock farmers out of renewables market

Farmers who avail of TAMS to install solar PV panels will not be allowed to export excess electricity to the grid and get paid for it.

In a statement to the Irish Farmers Journal, the Department of Agriculture confirmed that electricity generated from TAMS-supported solar panels must be used on the applicant’s farm for farming purposes and cannot be exported or used for non-farming purposes.

This means farmers who use TAMS to install panels will be locked out of the new Micro-generation Support Scheme (MSS), which will see farmers paid for excess renewable electricity exported to the grid.

However, the Department’s stance appears to be at odds with EU law.

TAMS provides grant aid of 40% or 60% towards the capital cost of a solar PV system

Under the EU Renewable Energy Directive II, consumers have the right to receive remuneration for excess renewable electricity which they export to the grid.

This directive resulted in the development of the MSS.

The stance is also at odds with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, which understands that farmers who export excess electricity to the grid from panels supported by their grant scheme can get paid for this electricity.

TAMS provides grant aid of 40% or 60% towards the capital cost of a solar PV system.

For a 10kW system, this is worth €5,650-€8,500. This methodology differs for pig and poultry farmers, however, who are grant aided on an m2 basis.