“Farmers across all sectors are grappling with massive increases in energy costs as they face into the coming winter. Unlike many of their European counterparts, Irish farmers were not given the opportunity or assistance to generate on-farm renewable energy which would have helped reduce the electricity demand of Irish farms and also improve energy security at National level. It represents a massive missed opportunity,” he said.

Analysis completed at European level in 2018 ranked Ireland 23^rd out of 27 EU Member States in adoption of renewable energy technologies at farm level. This analysis also estimated that Ireland generated just 2.6% of energy from agriculture compared with the EU-27 average of 12.1%.

“We now urgently need the State to step up with intervention and support that will allow farmers to generate energy on their farms both for own use and for onward supply into the National Grid,” he said. “In order to make this happen we need, as part of Budget 2023, the establishment of a new ‘Roof-top Solar Scheme’ and ‘Anaerobic Digestion Support Scheme’, financed by the Department of Environment, Climate & Communications and independent of TAMS.”

IFA Environment Chair, Paul O’Brien also outlined the need for a change in current policies on sale of surplus energy. “Existing policies on the level of saleable volumes of surplus energy into the National Grid must be reviewed. Otherwise, potential surplus energy that could be generated on Irish farms may go to waste. That cannot be left happen, particularly given the current National energy demands.”

The Kilkenny sheep farmer also highlighted that any reduction in emissions as a result of farm renewables currently do not contribute toward Agriculture’s reduction target. “To encourage farmers to consider producing renewable energy, any emissions reductions as a result of farm renewables must contribute toward the 25% cut in Agri emissions required by 2030 at National level,” concluded Paul.

“Minister Ryan has been telling us that we can reduce emissions at farm level through anaerobic digestion, solar panels, forestry and carbon farming yet the vast majority of emissions savings arising from these activities will be credited to other sectors and NOT to agriculture,” Tim Cullinan said.

“This is completely unfair and it must be addressed in the ongoing discussions between the two Ministers,” he said.

“At the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture this week Minister Ryan’s officials again sighted some of these activities as the main ways farmers could reduce emissions yet it had to be pointed out to them that these reductions would be counted against other sectors emissions, not agriculture,” he said.

“Under the Ministers proposals Irish farmers will be helping other sectors to achieve their targets and getting no credit for it themselves. This has to be factored into the discussions between the two Ministers and farmers must get the full credit for our contribution to reducing emissions” he concluded.

Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), Marie Donnelly, Climate Change Advisory Council Chairperson, Professor Frank O’Mara, Director, Teagasc and Tim Cullinan, IFA President will participate in a live panel discussion.

“With the finalisation of the sectoral emission reduction targets imminent, the live panel discussion is every opportune”, said Mr. O’Brien. “Farmers are faced with an enormous challenge and despite the talk of diversification, the options are still limited but can grow if the right supports are introduced”. 

In addition, there will be live panel discussions at the Energy, Sustainable Agriculture and Farm Business Options pavilions.

“I am very much looking forward to participating in the panel discussion that will look at look at large scale solar as an alternative land use option and what needs to happened to overcome the barriers to adoption”, said Mr. O’Brien.

For more information and to register your interest visit www.energyinagriculture.ie.

The free event will provide farmers with the most up-to-date information on the opportunities in the renewable energy sector, as well as ways to improve energy efficiency on farms. There is also a strong focus on farm diversification options at this year’s show.

“This year’s event will showcase the opportunities and supports that are available to farmers that want to get involved in renewable energy, be it solar or biomethane production,” he said.

He said that farmers recognise the opportunities offered by renewable energy. They allow them to produce energy for their own use, sheltering them from the volatile energy market, but also as an opportunity to diversify their farm income by selling excess energy to the grid, thereby enhancing the sustainability of their farm business.

“There will be panel discussions and demonstrations that will provide farmers the opportunity to ask experts in renewable energy and diversification questions and get the information required to make informed decisions and see what options might suit their farm business,” he said.

For more information and to register your interest, check out the details here.

He said rooftop solar on farm buildings offers significant potential to mitigate farm emissions; help Ireland reach renewable energy targets; and improve the resilience of farm business against rising energy costs. 

The confirmation of 60% grant aid under TAMS will make solar installations more viable on farms and overcome the high initial installation costs.  However, he stressed that the funding must be additional to the current funding allocated under TAMS and should not be restricted by the €80,000 limit.

Independent research conducted on behalf of IFA clearly showed that a capital grant of to 60% was required to make rooftop solar viable for farmers regardless of sector, size or geography.

He said there are significant limitations under TAMS to support adoption of solar on farms. This includes the maximum size of PV panels eligible for grant aid at 11kW and the fact that electricity generated must be used on the farm. It is also not permitted to use or export the electricity generated for domestic, commercial or non-farming use.

“If Ireland is committed to meet the carbon reduction targets for electricity of 62% to 81% as set out in the Climate Action Plan, a new scheme must be introduced that supports farmers to install rooftop solar PV, which optimises the renewable energy that can be produced on farm buildings and allows farmers to use excess energy for domestic purposes or to sell to the grid,” said Mr. O’Brien. 

He said a key element to increasing clean energy transition at farm level will be to ensure that any new scheme provides a 60% grant combined with a feed in tariff that delivers a realistic payback period.  

Ireland’s adoption of renewable technologies at farm level is well below the European average. In 2018, Ireland ranked 23rd out of the EU-27 for renewable energy from agriculture, producing just 2.6% compared with the average of 12.1%.

“The scheme as currently proposed won’t work. The scope needs to be widened,” he said.

IFA has made a detailed submission in response to the request for consultation on the proposed new scheme.  “It’s a missed opportunity to support farmers and communities to transition to renewable energy, while decarbonising the rural economy and potentially providing an additional income stream for farmers,” he said.

Ireland’s adoption of renewable technologies at farm level is well below the European average. In 2018, Ireland ranked 23^rd out the EU-27 countries for renewable energy from agriculture, producing just 2.6% compared with the EU-27 average of 12.1%.

“The rate of adoption of renewables on Irish farms clearly demonstrates a failure to develop policies that make farm-based renewables workable.  Unfortunately, the MSS scheme is no different,” said Mr. O’Brien

He said that farmers want to be central players in Ireland’s energy transition.  “They want to take advantage of the opportunities offered by microgeneration to diversify their farm income and enhance the overall sustainability of their farm business,” he said.

“If the scheme is to work for farm or community-based microgeneration, then the net payback period for on-farm installations needs to be reduced to 5–6 years, while the 70% self-consumption requirement is too restrictive, particularly for farmers with the capacity to produce renewable energy but that have a low energy consumption”.

IFA has written to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan to seek a meeting to outline our concerns with the proposed scheme.

“It’s clear from Government actions to date that they are only interested in supporting mega wind projects which for the most part will be built offshore and to a lesser extent large solar. These mega projects will be predominantly owned by major international companies and large international investor/hedge funds. Unfortunately, they will create minimal local employment once they are built out and are of limited benefit to local farmers and rural communities as profits in the main will be repatriated to the fund owners who reside outside Ireland.”

“The bar for participation has been set too high. Essentially, farm projects will have to compete in an auction system against mega wind and large solar that can afford to meet performance security requirements i.e. on-demand bond of €25,000/MW. If farmers want to participate, the maximum project size is limited to 5MW. However, they must relinquish majority ownership (51%) of the project to communities where the primary purpose is community benefit (environmental, economic or social) rather than financial profit. In essence, the farmer can only retain a 49% share which can be profit driven.”

Mr Short said, “The EU clearly recognises that the generation of renewable energy is more expensive than that from fossil fuels. Without financial incentives, the market will not deliver the required level of renewable energy. EU state aid rules allow for the introduction of national support schemes to overcome this market failure, including the introduction of tiered support measures. However, the Irish auction system favours big wind to the exclusion of smaller farm scale projects”.

“Farmers are willing to invest in renewable energy projects. Government policy initiatives to date fall considerably short of driving the commercial development of farm scale renewable energy projects. The inadequate provision of capital grant aid and ongoing operational supports undermines the long-term financial viability of many of these projects to the extent that commercial banks have no interest in funding them.”

“The Teagasc climate roadmap contains a scientific pathway that can transform our renewables sector and offset agricultural emissions. Farmers are ready to take on the challenge. However, Government must put in place the required grid access, planning and tariff supports. The delivery of this requires a whole-of-Government approach and today’s Action Plan must be the first step in making this happen,” he said.

Joe Healy said he would be looking for significant intent on the microgeneration of electricity, with credible tariffs and supports to incentivise communities.

Any increase in the carbon tax would be very difficult for farming as there isn’t an alternative

The IFA President said the critical issue for farming and agriculture is that our low-carbon model of food production is not sacrificed.

“Reducing food production from Ireland would be likely to increase global emissions as it would lead to food being produced in other countries who have much more carbon intensive forms of production,” he said.

Tom Short said, “The Department of Agriculture has taken the initiative, by rolling out funding for PV solar and energy efficiency lighting and this is a welcome first step.

However, the scope of the technologies supported is too narrow and the fund limited. The allocation of €10m is a token amount in the context of what is needed to drive on the rapid expansion of Ireland’s circular bio-economy, which encompasses renewable energy.”

The EU and international experience show that investing in the bio-economy and the renewable energy industry generates significant employment, particularly in rural regions.

The switch to renewable energy generation from diversified sources delivers many additional benefits, including increased energy security, reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The IFA Renewables Energy Chairman said this will not happen unless and until Government formulates a clear and coherent policy, and establishes a dedicated fund and appoints a task force to drive on the initiative that supports the development of Ireland’s bio-economy.

“Any support scheme that is put in place must support community microgeneration along with the deployment of the full range of renewable technologies including: wind turbines, micro hydro, solar PV systems, anaerobic digestion, ground source heat pumps, and combined heat and power to meet EU climate change and renewable energy targets,” said Tom Short.

Richard Bruton said the upcoming renewable electricity scheme would not specify the technology types, but instead would be driven by economies of scale. “This means large-scale solar and wind projects across the countryside.  This will continue to lock out farmers, home-owners and rural communities from playing their part in the transition to a low-carbon energy future,” Tom Short added.

“The strategy for renewable electricity supply by successive Governments has fuelled a rush to large scale renewable projects, which have no community ownership or participation.  After 25 years of renewables, it’s a shame that Ireland can only point to one community-owned renewable project.”

If the Government wants ‘buy-in’ from citizens and communities, then price support, grid access and planning will have to be adjusted for the next phase of renewable energy production,” he said.

IFA Environment Chairman Thomas Cooney said, “Farming can help reduce emissions in energy and transport.  The Teagasc climate roadmap has identified that almost two megatonnes of carbon dioxide can be reduced by displacing fossil fuel use in the sector, in areas such as energy efficiency, bioenergy and biofuels.  However, clear policy measures are required from Government.”

Mr Healy said the large attendance at today’s event is evidence of the strong interest among farmers, but they will need certainty around their plans.

Joe Healy said, “The recent publication of the broad design of a new RESS by the Environment & Climate Action Minister Denis Naughten places a welcome emphasis on community participation in future renewable projects, although it has not recognised the additional supports required for categories such as farm-scale projects”.

He said the move away from a feed-in tariff model to an auction-type scheme may ultimately benefit larger scale projects, particularly wind, to the exclusion of small to medium farm scale community-based projects, where a multitude of alternative technologies can be deployed.   “This will not create a balanced mix of energy sources, which will continue to add to community concerns and also limit Ireland’s security of energy supply.”

The IFA President said farmers with forestry offer significant potential to meet the growing demand for biomass in the emerging bioenergy sector.

Approximately 40% of the total forest area in Ireland is owned and managed by farmers, with the majority of plantations reaching production in the coming decade.  Forecasts show that timber production will more than double to 7.9 million m³ by 2035, with almost all of the increased volume coming for farmers.

Joe Healy aid if bioenergy generation is to become widespread, then biomass must be readily available and cost competitive. At the moment, our biomass is market is informal and often supply and demand do not easily match.

“To ensure an uninterrupted supply as well as greater control in fuel quality, IFA is advocating a network of centralised biomass trade centres, regional ‘service stations’ that supply top quality wood fuels, operated by forest producer organisations.”

A centralised system would enable improved control of the procurement process; biomass could be stored at the centre and processed during the winter season when the demand for fuel is high and when working conditions at the forest may be more difficult.

Supporting the establishment of the network of biomass trade and logistic centres offers farmers and rural communities’ significant new business opportunities to not just supply biomass, but to come heat contractors.

Mr Short said, “The successful development of renewable energy projects across much of Europe has been predicated on providing the proper financial supports as green energy generation is more expensive than that from fossil fuels. That dynamic is changing in relation to big wind and solar as technology costs continue to reduce. However, community resistance to large scale wind projects in Ireland will cap its development while reduced solar cell efficiencies due to our latitude will limit its scope for the production of renewable energy from solar panels. If Ireland is to meet its EU renewable targets and address security of supply issues it is important that the full range of renewable technologies available are deployed and adequately supported under grant aid schemes.”

“One of the main flaws with the switch away from feed in tariffs to an auction type system under the recently announced RESS scheme is that it favours larger scale projects, particularly wind, to the exclusion of small to medium farm scale community-based projects.”

“Farm scale community-based projects deliver significant value added to rural communities as they utilise local resources, including labour. This would result in a significant spin off into local communities, as has been the experience across many EU Member States. In addition, farm-based projects will help to decarbonise food production,” he said.

“The financial viability of medium sized farm scale community-based projects is very much predicated on certainty around income generation. Financial institutions and investors will not become involved in or back off these projects under an auction-based system as it fails to provide a guaranteed cashflow.”

Mr Short said, “The move away from feed in tariffs to an auction type scheme will essentially favour larger scale projects, particularly wind, to the exclusion of small to medium farm scale community based projects, where a multitude of alternative technologies can be deployed. This is important as the mix of technologies will give greater security of supply’.

Farm scale community-based projects deliver significant value added to rural communities as they utilise local resources, including labour. This would result in a significant spin off into local communities, as has been the experience across many EU Member States. In addition, farm-based projects will help to decarbonise food production, he said.

“The financial viability of medium sized farm scale community-based projects is very much predicated on certainty around income generation. Financial institutions and investors will not become involved in these projects under an auction based system as they will fail to provide a guaranteed support system.”

Tom Short said, “As part of the Association’s climate activation programme, IFA has long advocated a community-centred approach to future energy policy. Large scale development companies can no longer plunder our landscape, put in place renewables and associated infrastructure and take the €500m collected from households each year, as part of the electricity levy (PSO)”.

“Irish citizens should be entitled to be part of Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon economy. At farm level, it means participating in sustainability programmes such as Origin Green and Smart Farming. It also means displacing fossil fuel use in homes and farms through micro energy production and being provided with an opportunity to share in the ownership of renewable projects, which are often imposed on local communities without consultation.”

Concluding he said, “Our carbon efficient livestock sector is all too often the easy target as a response to addressing the climate challenge. However, Teagasc’s recently published blueprint for emission reductions highlights that farming can deliver annual reductions of 2 Mt of carbon dioxide equivalent by displacing fossil fuels with bioenergy crops and renewable energy production. Farming is ready to make its greatest contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the farm-scale renewables space and will work with Minister Naughten and his colleagues in Government to deliver on this.”

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) encourages people to reduce their energy costs and improve the energy performance of their homes through the Better Energy Homes programme. Cash grants from €50 up to €6,000 are available from the SEAI – see details below,

Full details and information on how to apply are available at www.seai.ie/betterenergyhomes or lo-call 1850 927 000.

These decisions follow a period of consultation with stakeholders including IFA and have been welcomed by the Association.

Tom Short, IFA Renewables Project Team Chair said, “These changes should bring an end to the speculative practice of developers trading grid connections for several thousands of euros. In many instances, when developers signed agreements with farmers, the farmers received nothing but the potential of future earnings.”

Tom Short has, however, called for greater support from both the CRU and Energy Minister Denis Naughten for farm-scale, farmer-led and community projects. “There are big asks of farming right now regarding climate, and renewables. The solution comes from providing priority grid access and feed-in tariffs for locally produced and consumed renewable energy, which displaces fossil fuels.

“Renewables cannot just be about large scale development projects, which are imposed on local communities,” Tom Short said.