Renewable energy has gone from a dream to an affordable reality for many - Smyth

Local businesses, farmers and community groups have been urged to avail of increased supports to invest in renewable energy and earn money by selling energy back to the grid.

The Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme recently launched its second phase. The Department of the Environment says this will provide an easier system for community projects while also enabling farmers, businesses, and others to take full part in the energy transition.

Chair of the Mullingar Sustainable Energy Community, Cllr Hazel Smyth praised the scheme, saying: “This is a fantastic project and I am delighted to see the people of Westmeath will be able to take part. Around 100 homes across the country install solar panels on their roofs every day. Cheap, clean, renewable energy has gone from a dream to a practical and affordable reality for many people. We have an ambitious target of 80 per cent renewable energy by 2030 and schemes like these are an important step in the right direction.”

The scheme supports projects generating between 50 kilowatts (kw) and 6 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy - roughly the capacity of between 125 and 12,500 solar panels. In phase 1 of the scheme, 980 applications with committed costs of €17.6 million received approval, installing capacity of 88MW in total.