The Micro-Renewable Energy Federation (MREF) has expressed concerns about the current structure of the schools photovoltaic (PV) scheme, and has urged new Minister for Education and Youth, Helen McEntee TD, to revise key aspects of the Scheme.
MREF Chairman, Mr. Ciarán Kells, has written to Minister McEntee to highlight again problems with the current Scheme which remain unresolved. These include planning restrictions and budget limitations that have led to the installation of suboptimal solar PV installations on schools right across the country.
Commenting, Ciarán Kells said:
“Despite the primary objective of the schools’ solar PV scheme being to support school authorities in installing solar PV on their roofs, the terms of the current Scheme are failing to provide adequate, future-proof renewable energy solutions for schools. There is no realistic prospect that installations being installed under the current scheme will ever meet the legitimate expectations of school managements, or their students or teachers, for renewable energy generation from these public and community buildings.
“Schools authorities have been restricted by unnecessarily rigid terms in the current scheme, including a tender requirement that is entirely price driven, and a generation capacity limit of 6kW that prevents system enhancement with additional panels, larger inverters, or the addition of battery storage systems to meet future generation needs.”
Mr. Kells said: “The Schools Solar PV Scheme needs to incorporate some flexibility to allow systems that can be scaled up in the future to better meet school energy requirements and ultimately provide a better return on investment for taxpayers.”
Mr. Kells also highlighted the environmental risks that are being created by the installation of PV systems on schools that will quickly become redundant because of restrictive terms and limits on size that prevent them being scaled up in the future.
He said: “The terms of this scheme are resulting in poorly planned systems that will need to be removed a very short time after they have been installed, mirroring the past mistakes we have seen with previous Part L regulations.”
He said: “The opportunity to turn schools into mini power plants would provide real opportunities to both the educational institutions, their students and the local communities that they serve, especially during the summer months when schools are not in use.
“However, we need the schools PV scheme to deliver on its promise by creating a lasting, positive impact for students, taxpayers, and the environment. We need a revised scheme that can meet the needs of schools and ensuring long-term success.”
0 Comments