Red tape turns people off solar power switch
A COMBINATION of red tape and unnecessary costs is deterring people from switching to solar power, experts claim.
Ireland is not on track to meet its 2020 renewable-energy targets and the State is facing criticism for its failure to update legislation that would make it easier for schools, farms, communities and businesses to make the transition, unlike other EU countries.
Severe planning restrictions limiting solar-panel fittings have prevented homes from becoming fossil-fuel free for the past decade.
Only recently are we beginning to see the reins loosen for residential solar PV fittings, but the same can’t be said for commercial fittings.
One woman’s planning battle in Limerick to power her home with solar energy set her back a total of €7,000 after she took on An Bord Pleanála and Limerick County Council to retain the panels fitted on her home.
Elzbieta Joanna Pasinska, a physiotherapist and mother of three, had to jump through a series of costly hoops over two years to keep her panels.
In July 2019, in what was described as a ‘landmark judgment’ An Bord Pleanála rejected its inspector’s recommendations to refuse approval of Ms Pasinka’s 21 panels which now cover her rooftop.
Even though she won the case she still had to pay out €550 to the council last week for what they cited as ‘legal costs’ after they took the case against her.
Ms Pasinska said: ‘Before I ever put the panels on, I rang the county council to ask what I needed to do. I had an engineer drawing up plans for an extension to my house and it would cost me nothing to add the panels.
‘I asked them if I need to apply for panels and they said no – they gave me the wrong information. They never mentioned the fact that if the panels cover more than 12 sq/m you need planning permission.
‘The legislation on panels was made decades ago and applied to thermal panels for heating water. Those are very heavy, so it makes sense that you could only have a small amount but today’s panels are 10 times lighter. They’re using the same legislation for solar PV when they’re very different.’
In an email to Ms Pasinka, Minister for Climate Action, Richard Bruton said he is planning on looking at updating legislation but this has yet to materialise.
However, it’s still much easier to get panels for homes than for commercial operations. The ESB charges between €750 and €25,000 for connecting large generators to the grid, over 6kilowatts. These connection costs are not seen in other EU countries and are said to put commercial industries off.
National sales manager for Alternative Energy Ireland, Darren Buckley told the MoS: ‘I get 15 to 20 phone calls from people mad interested in getting solar panels put in but when I tell them what they have to do and the hoops they have to jump through to get it, it’s a turn off for them.’
When asked about the Government’s failure to update legislation, a spokesperson for the Department on Climate Action and Environment said: ‘By the end of 2019, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is due to conclude a review of the current exemptions relating to solar panels in consultation with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment and implement amendments arising from the review.’
‘Council gave me the wrong information’