Facts checked 25 July 2026. Grant schemes are revised regularly — confirm current terms on seai.ie or ask us to confirm your exact entitlement.
If your business, farm, school or club has a roof and a daytime electricity bill, the Non-Domestic Microgen Grant (NDMG) is the scheme that applies. It is administered by SEAI, it supports systems up to 1,000 kWp, and at the top end it is worth up to €162,600.
This is how it actually works — including the parts that catch people out.
Who can apply
The scheme is deliberately broad:
- Businesses of any size, from a single shop to an industrial site
- Farms (though for most farm projects, TAMS at 60% is the better scheme — and you must pick one; the two cannot be combined for the same investment)
- Schools, colleges and public sector bodies
- Community organisations, sports clubs and non-profits
The core requirements: a non-domestic premises in Ireland with its own electricity connection (MPRN), and installation by an SEAI-registered company.
How the money is structured
Support is tiered by system size — the rate per kWp steps down as the system gets bigger, so small systems get proportionally more help, while the largest systems still attract the biggest total amounts, up to the €162,600 maximum at 1,000 kWp.
We deliberately don’t reproduce the per-band rate table here. SEAI revises the bands periodically, and a stale table sets an expectation that then has to be walked back. When we quote a system, we calculate your entitlement against the current scheme rules and show you the arithmetic.
What we can say with confidence: for a typical SME roof in the tens of kilowatts, the grant generally covers a meaningful slice of the project — and for a profitable company it stacks with the tax treatment below.
The grant is only half the financial story
For a trading business, two other things often matter as much:
- Accelerated Capital Allowances. Solar qualifies as energy-efficient equipment, which lets a profitable company write the net cost (after grant) off against tax in year one instead of over eight years. It’s a timing benefit, not free money — our commercial page explains it honestly, and your accountant should model it.
- What you no longer buy. Commercial electricity in Ireland typically lands at 25–35c/kWh fully loaded. Every unit generated and used on site is a unit off that bill, for 25+ years. Businesses that operate in daylight hours — manufacturing, retail, cold storage, offices — tend to consume most of what a well-sized system generates, because their demand peaks exactly when the panels do. How much, precisely, depends on your load profile — which is what we model before quoting.
The sequencing rules that lose people their grant
This is where applications actually fail, and none of it is difficult if it’s done in order:
- Apply first, install second. No work may start before SEAI issues your Letter of Offer. Starting early doesn’t reduce your grant — it voids it.
- ESB Networks approval is separate. Grid connection consent (NC6/NC7 notification for smaller systems, full application for larger ones) must also be in place before installation. Allow four weeks or more.
- Documentation closes the loop. Commissioning certificates, compliance paperwork and photos are what release the payment. Incomplete paperwork is the most common cause of delay.
We run all three tracks in parallel and in sequence — it’s the least glamorous part of what we do, and the part that most reliably protects your money.
How long it takes
From a standing start, a well-run commercial project typically needs six to ten weeks before installation can begin — grant application and offer, then grid approval — followed by an installation measured in days, not weeks, for most roof-mounted systems. Planning permission is rarely a factor: since October 2022, rooftop solar on commercial, industrial and agricultural buildings is exempt without an area cap outside a small number of safeguarding zones near airports.
Where to start
Two numbers begin every sensible conversation: your annual kWh consumption and your unit rate, both on your bill. From those plus a look at the roof, we can tell you the sensible system size, the grant it attracts and the realistic payback — before you commit to anything.
Request a commercial assessment or call us on (090) 640 0180.