Energy boost

Solar PV

The 60 per cent Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) grant for solar PV installations on farms coupled with a full VAT refund and 100 per cent tax write-off makes solar PV one of the best investments any farmer can make in their business.
Nigel Flynn, a poultry farmer in Monaghan, installed a 50kWp (kWp stands for kilowatt 'peak' power output) system with us in 2019 and has just been approved to expand the system using the dedicated 60 per cent TAMS grant opportunity.
Commenting on solar PV, Nigel said it is one of the best farm investments he has made as the solar PV system provided a buffer for his farm from the worst of the energy price volatility over the past couple of years.

With supports available, Nigel is now expanding the solar PV system and installing battery storage to optimise the use of energy generated on the farm. Nigel said he is proud to play his part in improving sustainability and believes it is important everyone does what they can to address the challenge of climate change.
Quality technology is important, he said, and he chose German-warranted Solarwatt glass panels which now provide 30-year product and 30-year performance warranties promising over 90 per cent efficiency after 30 years. They also come with five-year all-risk insurance cover from Aon.

Agri-based biomethane

The Government’s long-overdue support measures for biomethane are promised this month (May). In all likelihood, the support is going to be a capital grant to assist in the building of the plants, which will reduce the kWh price required for the renewable gas, and  this support will be coupled with a renewable heat obligation requiring businesses to purchase a percentage of their gas from renewable sources to reduce their future heat and transport emissions.
Assuming this happens, farmers will be asked to play a central role in providing the feedstock requirements for these plants, creating new, sustainable, income-earning opportunities.
Thousands of acres of land will be required to grow silage, maize, fodder beet, and whole crop cereal, to power these plants.

Farm slurries, manures, and chicken litter can all be used in a biomethane plant and, assuming the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s (DAFM’s) regulations facilitate the export of slurries from derogation farms and import of digestate at the end of the process, these plants may provide another cost-effective way of dealing with nitrate issues on farms.
The first plant is going to be based in Carnaross, Co. Meath. This 4MW plant secured full planning without a hitch thanks to an expert team and proper farmer and community engagement. Planning is the first hurdle any project has to overcome and many factors need to be carefully assessed in advance to minimise the risk of failure.

Assuming the economics for building the plant materialise, local farmers will be asked to grow about 40,000 tonnes of silage per year for this plant. The plant will also take in a similar quantity of farm slurries, chicken litter and manures. After taking the gas from the feedstock, there will be circa 70,000 tonnes of high-powered pasteurised digestate which, again, farmers will play a central role in recycling. To give you an idea on the value of the digestate, one tonne of digestate will provide nearly all the nutrients for growing one tonne of silage – that is how much value can be placed on this. We expect 30 to 40 of these plants to be built across the country in the coming years and we aim to work closely with the farming community to optimise the opportunity. However, Government policy is key to ensuring this happens and a solid support structure now needs to be delivered without any further delays.

Beat the Peak Business SCHEME

Recently, ESB Networks launched a Beat the Peak Business scheme which aims to reward eligible commercial electricity users who reduce their energy use weekdays between the hours of 4.30pm and 7pm with kWh payments of up to 82c/kWh. This now means that businesses which have hourly interval metering to allow measurement of current base loads during peak energy use times, and are passed by ESB networks to participate, can secure these attractive kWh payments for reducing their energy use during peak demand times on the grid.
One way for businesses to achieve this is by reducing energy use in their business or by using alternative energy sources to displace bought-in energy during these peak demand times. This scheme now presents opportunities for businesses and farms to improve paybacks on solar and battery storage systems.
However, traditionally paybacks on battery storage are much longer, and take up to 10 years without a grant. With this new opportunity, the waiting time for paybacks for installing battery storage to participate in Beat The Peak, and also to optimise the use of renewable energy generated from solar, will be halved. We believe that the need for grid balancing technologies is going to grow exponentially as the amount of renewables connected to the grid grows and battery storage is going to play a major part in this. ESB Networks has more work to do to make this opportunity attractive, but first steps taken are encouraging and positive.

Beat the Peak Business SCHEME

Recently, ESB Networks launched a Beat the Peak Business scheme which aims to reward eligible commercial electricity users who reduce their energy use weekdays between the hours of 4.30pm and 7pm with kWh payments of up to 82c/kWh. This now means that businesses which have hourly interval metering to allow measurement of current base loads during peak energy use times, and are passed by ESB networks to participate, can secure these attractive kWh payments for reducing their energy use during peak demand times on the grid.
One way for businesses to achieve this is by reducing energy use in their business or by using alternative energy sources to displace bought-in energy during these peak demand times. This scheme now presents opportunities for businesses and farms to improve paybacks on solar and battery storage systems.
However, traditionally paybacks on battery storage are much longer, and take up to 10 years without a grant. With this new opportunity, the waiting time for paybacks for installing battery storage to participate in Beat The Peak, and also to optimise the use of renewable energy generated from solar, will be halved. We believe that the need for grid balancing technologies is going to grow exponentially as the amount of renewables connected to the grid grows and battery storage is going to play a major part in this. ESB Networks has more work to do to make this opportunity attractive, but first steps taken are encouraging and positive.

Grid Connection

I strongly recommend that anyone interested in installing larger solar PV systems move early to apply for grid connection. A grid connection agreement allows you to sell surplus electricity generated to a utility company and, in many cases, significantly improves the economics and sustainability of your investment. Local Power Ltd has extensive experience in putting successful grid connection applications together and we do this free of charge as part of our service.
There are four grid connection options available. The micro-generation scheme is for smaller systems of up to 9kWp on single phase and 15kWp on three-phase connections and requires no grid connection agreement other than an NC6 form submitted to ESB Networks.
The mini-generation scheme facilitates installations of up to 25kWp of solar PV on single-phase connections (maximum allowable on single-phase connections) and up to 75kWp on three-phase connections. This requires a grid application to ESB Networks and, once a fee of €950 including VAT is paid, ESB Networks will assess your site with a view to granting an export agreement.

The Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS) allows the connection of up to 300 kWp of solar PV and follows a similar process with a fee of circa €1,220 being paid to ESB Networks in advance of assessment. The process takes approximately three months, and ESB Networks have scaled up their teams to try and deal with applications as quickly as possible.

System sizes above this must enter a large-scale connection process that can take several years to get approval. For example, Local Power Ltd submitted an application for a larger system almost three years ago and hopes the grid agreement will be approved in the coming months. Already, under the mini and small-scale generation schemes, there are nearly 3,000 grid applications submitted for approval. ESB Networks have scaled up their assessment teams and approvals should be achieved within two to three months.
Local Power Ltd sees grid connection becoming a bigger and bigger issue going forward and strongly advises those interested in installing solar PV to get their application in for a grid connection asap.