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Image: Jürgen Striewski, Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA-4.0
Ireland has extended the eligibility criteria for its solar PV scheme for medically vulnerable customers to include all homeowners registered with their energy supplier as dependent on electrically powered medical equipment, including dialysis machines and ventilators. Previously, the scheme only applied to those on ESB Networks’ Priority Services Register, while it is now open to customers of all energy suppliers.
The package includes the installation of a 2 kW solar PV system, with a string inverter, associated peripherals such as a battery and five 400 W solar panels.
The scheme was initially launched as a pilot in 2022 and has benefited around 470 homes to date.
Ireland’s Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien, said he expects usage to increase as a result of the extension of eligibility criteria to all homeowners registered under the life support category of the Priority Services Register, regardless of which energy supplier they use. They automatically qualify for the scheme.
“Delivering resilience in our energy systems is a top priority for me and for the government. First and foremost, we must ensure that the most vulnerable in society are protected,” O’Brien said. In the event of a power outage, vulnerable customers should be prioritized so that they can continue to access their treatment machines, which have high energy demands.
Electricity suppliers will contact everyone who meets the criteria for the scheme in the coming weeks and months. The energy supplier sends a letter of interest and then instructs a solar PV provider to visit the resident and assess the suitability of their property for a solar system. Despite the extension, the scheme only applies to homes built and occupied on or before December 31, 2020.
Ireland recently allocated more than €1 billion to renewable energy in its 2026 national budget, a significant portion of which will go towards solar energy subsidies for home and business owners and electricity grid upgrades.
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