Commercial solar PV

It depends which scheme you are under. For TAMS, your farm advisor lodges the application and we supply the system specification, quotes and documentation it needs. For the SEAI Non-Domestic Microgen Scheme, the application is made before work starts and we provide the installer detail and the completion documents that release the payment. Either way, no work should start before approval is issued. That means TAMS approval from the Department of Agriculture, or the SEAI letter of offer, and we make sure that order is kept.

The SEAI Non-Domestic Microgen Scheme supports non-domestic solar installations up to 1000 kWp, with a maximum grant of €162,600. Support is tiered by system size, so the rate per kWp reduces as the system gets larger. Businesses, farms, schools, public sector bodies, community groups and non-profits can all apply.

Not both for yourself. The grant follows whoever owns the system, so you cannot claim it on an array someone else has funded. Under a Power Purchase Agreement the provider owns the system and claims the SEAI Non-Domestic Microgen Scheme, worth up to €162,600, and that value should show up in the unit rate you are quoted. It is one reason buying outright is usually the stronger option where the capital is available: you keep the grant, the system itself and all of the electricity. Ask any PPA provider, ourselves included, to show you how the grant is carried through into the rate.

Usually not. Rooftop solar on houses is exempt from planning permission, with no area limit, since October 2022 — and that applies anywhere in the country, including inside the 43 Solar Safeguarding Zones around airports and aerodromes, which cap other kinds of building but not houses. The exceptions for a house are protected structures and Architectural Conservation Areas. Rooftop solar on industrial, commercial and agricultural buildings is exempt from planning permission with no area cap outside the 43 Solar Safeguarding Zones near airports and aerodromes. Inside a zone, the exemption for these buildings stops at 300m² of panels — counting anything already installed — so a larger array needs permission. Ground-mounted arrays and protected structures have separate rules, and we confirm the position for every site as part of our survey.

A typical domestic installation is completed in a small number of days on site once the system is designed, the grant offer is in place and materials are scheduled. Commercial and farm projects run longer and are phased around your operations. We give you a specific timeline in your quotation rather than a generic estimate.

Yes, and several points is a different job to one home charger. Total site capacity, dynamic load sharing across the points, access control and per-user usage reporting all have to be designed together rather than installed one at a time. Workplace charging pairs well with a commercial array, because staff cars are parked on site during the daytime hours when the system is producing, so more of the generation gets used on site.

You have three options and most systems use all of them: use it in the building as it is generated, store it in a battery for later, or export it to the grid. Exported electricity is paid for by your supplier under the Clean Export Guarantee. The rate you receive is set by your electricity supplier, so it is worth comparing.

We are based in Blyry Business & Commercial Park in Athlone and work across the Midlands and nationwide. Athlone, Mullingar, Tullamore, Longford, Ballinasloe, Roscommon and the surrounding counties are our home patch, and we travel further for commercial and farm projects.