Over 100,000 rooftop solar microgenerators have now been connected to Ireland’s electricity network in what is being hailed as “rooftop revolution”.
ESB Networks stated that these microgenerators added over 400MW of clean energy onto Ireland’s power system, significantly helping the country on its trajectory towards Net Zero.
Commenting on the milestone, Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan said: “Today’s announcement really demonstrates that the potential of solar power in Ireland is being realised in communities right across the country – the future is bright.”
“Hundreds of homes are going solar each week, generating power that they can use themselves and selling excess energy into the grid,” he pointed out.
Customers can receive payments from their electricity supplier for any excess energy sold back to the network, said Nicholas Tarrant, Managing Director at ESB Networks.
ESB Networks further said 20 per cent of solar panel connections were delivered in the past six months, and that it is continuing to progress applications at a rate of 750 per week.