Ireland

Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) says its majority stake in Elgin Energy will help the Irish solar developer to transition into an independent power producer (IPP).

Highfield Solar has achieved financial close for a 93 MWp solar plant in Ireland, securing €65 million ($70.6 million) of debt financing. Installation of the project’s grid-connection infrastructure has already begun, with construction of the actual solar array to be finished by September 2024.

ESB has opened a 75 MW/150 MWh battery plant, touted as the largest of its kind in commercial operation in Ireland. Eamon Ryan, the country’s Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, has said that the site will be a core part of Ireland’s renewable energy transition.

The new products use propane (R290) as a refrigerant and have heating and cooling capacities ranging from 8 kW to 30 kW.

Ireland’s Department of Education says that just over 900 schools out of 1,600 eligible facilities have signed up to participate in the government’s first round of the Solar for Schools Programme, a nationally funded scheme to cover the costs of 6 kW roof-mounted solar installations.

Almost 2 GW of solar was tendered in the latest UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero auction, while almost 500 MW was recently awarded in the latest auction round spearheaded by Irish power transmission operator EirGrid. But these gains come with five challenges, according to analysts from New Zealand-based consultancy firm PSC.

Up to 1,600 schools in Ireland can apply from today to receive 6 kW of solar systems to be installed on their rooftops through a federally funded scheme, the Irish government recently announced.

The Irish government says it expects to meet the ambitious target of installing 8 GW of solar by the end of the decade. It says it will do this through existing measures – such as the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) and microgeneration supports – as well as a new, smaller Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS) to be launched in 2024.

Roughly €380 million ($403 million) has been earmarked for spending in Ireland’s residential and community grant upgrade schemes, which includes solar PV installations, according to the Irish government’s 2024 Budget. The head of the local energy association, however, cautions to pv magazine that the new budget may not be ‘quite so generous’ as it first appears.

The Irish Solar Energy Association and AirPV have developed an online tool to calculate rooftop solar potential, enabling homeowners and businesses to estimate payback times, annual savings, and emission reductions.