Teagasc, Ireland’s agricultural development authority, has teamed up with Munster Technological University (MTU) to create a guide for dairy farmers to install solar on their farms.
The guide aims to provide practical information for farmers on how solar can help reduce their energy bills and be a source of clean power.
The authors claim a 26 kWp solar system on a dairy farm can offset around 7.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Solar is a particularly useful investment for dairy farms with high energy use for milking.
“This guide will help farmers make confident, informed decisions,” said the guide’s lead author, John Upton, Teagasc. “Solar PV is no longer just a green option; it is a smart investment that supports farm resilience.”
The publication covers topics such as site assessments, planning permission, installation, system design, battery storage, and specific payback scenarios. It has information on grants, export tariffs and how farmers can participate in the Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS). SRESS targets small-scale renewable developments that export electricity to the national grid. The latest phase was launched in January 2025.
‘A Solar Energy Guide for Dairy Farms’ jointly authored by MTU and Teagasc is available for free online, and can be accessed here.
It contains links to published research papers and resources on dairy energy use, as well as other potentially useful links to sites such as the government’s TAMS 3 solar capital investments scheme and community grants from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
It also highlights a free online decision support tool developed by Teagasc and MTU that helps farmers optimize on-farm energy use and assess the financial payback of renewables. Using specific inputs such as herd size, milking system, cooling and heating setup and electricity tariffs, it can model energy consumption and identify cost-saving opportunities.
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