Facts checked 25 July 2026. We’re based in Blyry Business & Commercial Park, Athlone. This is our home patch.
Commercial electricity in Ireland typically lands at 25–35c/kWh fully loaded once standing charges, capacity charges and levies are counted. For a Midlands SME using 50,000 kWh a year at a rate near 30c, that’s a €15,000 line item that rises every time the market moves. Behind it, Irish household prices are now the highest in the EU (Eurostat, H2 2025), and the same network and generation costs sit underneath every bill.
That’s why the roofs along the N6 corridor are filling up with panels.
Why the Midlands case is stronger than people assume
The light is fine. A Midlands roof generates around 850–900 kWh per installed kWp per year. That’s a planning range used for sizing and explanation rather than a measured statistic; your survey replaces it with figures for your actual roof. Orientation, pitch and shading move real output either way.
The building stock helps too. The commercial units around Athlone, Mullingar, Tullamore and Longford are mostly industrial units, retail parks and distribution sheds: large, shallow-pitched or flat roofs, little shading, and the electrical infrastructure already on site. Since October 2022, rooftop solar on commercial and industrial buildings needs no planning permission outside a handful of safeguarding zones near airports.
And an SME that works 8am–6pm consumes electricity precisely when panels produce it, so a well-sized system sees most of its output used on site. Units you use yourself are worth your full unit rate. An exported unit earns considerably less.
What the supports look like
- NDMG grant: tiered by size, worth up to €162,600 at the top end; a meaningful contribution at typical SME scale.
- Accelerated Capital Allowances: profitable companies write the net cost off against tax in year one. It’s a timing advantage rather than a discount, and your accountant should model it. More on our commercial page.
- Farms: a separate and usually better route. 60% under TAMS, against a ring-fenced €90,000 investment ceiling, so a maximum grant of €54,000. TAMS runs in application tranches, four in 2026, of which 4 September and 4 December were still ahead when this was written. Check which one is open before you plan around a date; closing dates have been extended before.
What a typical SME project involves
- Two numbers from your bill: annual kWh and unit rate. This tells us more than any site visit.
- A roof and load assessment: structure, orientation, shading, and how your consumption spreads across the day. We size to your demand curve rather than to the maximum the roof could hold. Oversized systems export their surplus at a fraction of the import rate.
- Grant and grid paperwork: SEAI letter of offer before work starts (starting early voids the grant), with ESB Networks connection approval alongside. Six to ten weeks, typically, from application to being cleared to install.
- Installation in days: most SME-scale roof systems go up in under a week, phased around your operations. Ballasted mounting on flat roofs means no penetrations.
- Monitoring from day one: you see generation, consumption and export live, which is also the data trail your larger customers increasingly ask for in supplier questionnaires.
The local part
Our office and stores are in Blyry Business & Commercial Park, Athlone. Survey visits don’t need to be batched weeks out, the install crew isn’t routed from Dublin, and aftercare comes from someone who will still be twenty minutes away in year fifteen of a thirty-year asset. Solar is a long relationship with whoever put it on your roof. Pick someone who’ll still be nearby.
Ask us and we’ll walk you through live generation data from installations like yours, and put you in touch with local owners who’ll tell you how theirs has gone.
Get a free assessment for your premises, or ring the office on (090) 640 0180 and ask for Mick.