Planning and Development for Solar Panels

Exciting things are happening in small-scale renewables at the moment in Ireland. Several streams are coalescing to remove some impediments that have hampered development to date. One of these comes from the Oireachtas in the form of the ‘Planning and Development Bill 2021‘, or [S.I. No. 88 of 2021].

Let’s just consider the title for a moment.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT (SOLAR PANELS FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS, SCHOOLS, HOMES AND OTHER PREMISES) (AMENDMENT) BILL 2021

An Act to amend S.I. No. 600 of 2001 of the Planning and Development Regulations, 2001, to provide for the removal of planning restrictions relating to installations of solar panels on public buildings including schools, homes, industrial buildings, light industrial buildings and agricultural holdings, and to provide for related matters.

The bill does not, in it’s current form, fully release planning conditions for the installation of solar panels, but it’s a step in the right direction, as it allows every public building to accommodate a shift to renewables without the added complication of putting every project through the planning system.

This act of the Oireachtas, combined with an initiative from the DSO, ESB Networks, to introduce a new class of minigenerators and a corresponding ‘inform-and-fit’ process, also with the ongoing process to introduce feed-in tariffs by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities indicates that all the responsible bodies are moving in the right direction.

For a brief introduction to the ongoing process at the CRU read our article on Solar Energy feed-in tariffs from March.

The act under consideration, when eventually signed into law, adds a further measure of hope that Ireland will embrace small-scale renewables in a way that many other countries already have.

Collectively, all of these small measures could have a big impact on the adoption of solar energy by consumers in Ireland.

Please Contact Us if you are ready to take that step!