Happy Christmas from TIRGLAS

Basic Payment Scheme 2020

   We are near the end of 2019 with the DAFM making payments for the BPS Scheme with the next round of payments starting in the first week of December.

For all who use donkeys passports to claim the ANC payments for 2019 and previous years there is a change coming in 2020 as stated in the DAFM  BPS terms and conditions for 2019.

The big change will be that if you use only donkey passports in the past you can only use them to account for 50% of the land area from 2020 onwards. For example if your minimum stocking rate of 0.15LU per hectare which is the equivalent to 4 donkeys from 2020 on wards you can only us 2 donkey and 2 other LU's from cattle and or sheep. You can also use breeding ponies provided that a mare had a foal in 2019.

Now is the time to plan for 2020 in regard to eligibility for the ANC payment. If your herd number for cattle and or sheep is dormant you may have to fill a form to reactivate it. Remember as per the above example of needing to replace 2 LU with either bovines or ovines which is equivalent to 2 cows, 3.33 cattle under 2 or 14 ewes/hoggets. These numbers are for the full year and if you plan to follow having cattle for only seven months only then you will have to carry more so that the minimum for the year is 0.15LU/ha.

If in doubt of these requirements please contact our office at (091) 738900

Forest FireDanger Rating

Details of current orange fire warnings can be seen at the link below

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/firemanagement/

SOLAR Panels under TAMSII

The grants scheme offers up to 60% of the completed installation cost to a maximum grant value of €9,300 which pre-supposes a cost price of up to €15,500 for the 6kWp Solar PV array with 4.5kW hours of battery storage.

A typical 6kWp installation would comprise of 20 PV panels of 300W capacity each, the panels measure approx. 1 metre by 1.65 metres requiring an area of 33 metres squared, preferably placed on a South facing slope, but South East and South West facing roofs perform very well also.

The PV panels can be mounted on a suitable farm building roof or ground mounted on a frame.  

Depending on geographical location, panel orientation and angle the 6kWp Solar PV array can produce up to 5,500kW Hours or Electrical Units a year, with intelligent use of equipment (matching load to PV power output) and the battery storage facility for night time consumption, all of this will replace energy purchased from your Utility company.

TIRGLAS Limited will facilitate applications under this measure and we will continue to be competitive in pricing. As are all TAMS applications this will also be completed on line. We will also post on our web site a solar map of Ireland and a solar orientation map for your information.

We will also strive to get the best price in suppliers of the PV panels so that you get the best options. We would recommend that before any decision be made that a desk study be completed and that you have all the facts in hand before a final decision can be made.

We can be contacted at the numbers listed on our site yourcommonage.ie.

Warning

Keep in mind that when there are grants available there are unscrupulous companies cold calling, conducting surveys under the premise of energy audits, then offering to send an "engineer" to advise on their energy bills. The pointer to look for is the sweet-talking appointment booker who will insist that both parties (husband and wife) are present when the consultation is booked.   

Then there follows a carefully rehearsed, psychological, pressurised sales process, with the sales persons reluctant to leave even after two or three hours without procuring a sale secured with a deposit, insisting that the heavily discounted offered price (usually still inflated) is dependent on the owners signing up on the first visit.

 A reputable company employs only salaried sales and consultancy personnel, leaving the quotation with the client to review for a period of a week or so. We would recommend that you source a company whom is registered or you can contact us so that we can do that for you.

 What is Solar PV?

Photovoltaic or PV solar panels enable the householder, business owner or farmer to generate you’re their own FREE electricity during daylight hours for self-consumption.

Installed on your roof or on a frame on your property, PV solar panels generate a DC electrical current such as used in a motor vehicle, the more panels installed the greater the current. An inverter then converts the DC power to AC power which then runs all the electrical appliances in your building.

So now during daylight you can power your lights, cooker, oven, washer, dryer, fridge, freezer, TV, etc, in your home and with a connector you can charge your new electric car.

The excess electricity not used can be diverted to heat your hot water via an immersion heater or your heat pump, alternatively excess power can be stored with a battery pack for night time use, all for free!*

On your farm or commercial premises you use your own generated electricity for lights, heating, washing, chilling, machinery, etc, reducing the amount purchased from your utility company.

You may also be enhancing your Green credentials by be reducing your use of fossil fuels with a subsequent reduction in carbon emissions.

Building Energy Rating (BER).

If you wish to improve the BER rating on your existing or new build home installing i energy PV panels can be the most cost effective method, some new planning conditions insist on a PV installation. (check regs with your architect)

*That is when the capital cost of the PV is covered, which can be in as little as five to seven years, depending on size of PV array, initial cost and government grants or incentives. Our PV panels have a guaranteed output for 25 years.

How do PV solar panels work?

Photovoltaics is the conversion of light into electricity, photo meaning light and voltaic meaning volt, or electricity.

Scientists working on space projects a few decades ago, discovered that some materials such as silicone formed into cells will generate electricity if exposed to light.

The amount of electricity generated by one cell is relativity little, so usually 60 cells are arranged to form a module or solar panel with an output of 300 watts from our standard panel.

A number of solar panels connected together becomes an array producing a useable quantity of electricity. A domestic PV system produces approximately 1kW for every three or four panels installed. Commercial PV installations or Solar Farms could have hundreds of solar panels in the array.

If the panels are only generating 60% of the power that your home requires, the 40% balance will come in from the ESB grid as it normally would.

So, if you install a solar PV solar panel system, you will benefit from reduced electricity bills forever, your BER will be increased and your green credentials will be greatly increased.

 

Example of panels on a farm shop

Example of frame for Ground mounted panels.

Ground Mounted panels

PV panels on a low pitch roof.

PV panels being fixed to rails

Minister Creed announces new renewable energy grants available for Irish farms Up to €10m available to fund on-farm renewables

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D., today announced a series of exciting new grants available for Irish farms under the TAMS on-farm investment scheme. The new measure will make €10m worth of grants available for energy efficiencies and renewable energy technologies, following a comprehensive review of the TAMS scheme designed to increase its focus on sustainability.

Speaking today Minister Creed commented “a comprehensive review of the investment items available under TAMS has been carried out by my Department. The review factored in the latest available technologies to further drive energy efficiency at farm level and reduce electricity use on farms. This is part of the wider drive to position Irish agriculture as a global leader in sustainability and these investments will further enhance those credentials”.

The new grants will be available for farmers from the next tranche of TAMS opening 5 April next. Eligible investments include:

1. Solar PV Installation on Farms – to extend current availability under the scheme to all sectors. Grant aid in this initial pilot phase of up to €9,300 or up to 60% of the overall cost will be available to fund a 6kWp solar system;

2. LED Lighting –all lighting funded under the scheme will be required to be LED lighting. LED Lighting uses a fraction of the electricity consumed by conventional lighting. The current specifications for TAMS II include lighting in all new farm structures. In future, only LED lighting only will now be grant aided.

The Minister concluded “I have listened to Irish farmers on this issue and their enthusiasm to invest in on-farm renewable technologies. I am pleased to be responding with these new grants. The TAMS scheme is already a significant investor in improving energy efficiency on Irish farms and we keep the scheme under constant review. Any new and emerging technologies will continue to be monitored with a view to their inclusion in future if feasible”.

Notes for Editors:

 TAMS II provides grant aid for a number of investments specifically aimed at improving energy efficiency in the farming sector. Examples of these include Plate coolers, Heat Transfer Units and Internal Ice Builders for the Dairy Sector. The Pigs and Poultry Scheme and the Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme provides grant aid for biomass boilers, electrical heat pads, energy efficient LED lighting, indirect heating systems, solar panels for water heating and electricity production, ventilation fans and control systems, insulation for doors, roofs and walls, air source heat pumps and heat recovery units

 Solar panels which generate DC electricity when exposed to light are known as ‘solar photovoltaic (PV) modules’. The economics for solar PV work best when all of the electricity generated is used on the farm. Energy generated will solely be for agricultural use on the farm

 A solar PV system size for a dairy farm of approx. 5.5kWp combined with a 4.5kWh of battery storage capacity. Grant aid in this initial pilot phase will be to fund a 6kWp solar system. Costs are based on the cost of installation of a 6kWp solar system; this includes a battery which is necessary to capture the energy output thereby making it economically viable. At this maximum size the grant provided at the 40% rate would be €6,200 and at 60% it would be €9,300.

 The allocated budget for TAMS II over the full course of the RDP is €395m. The budget for 2019 is €70m.

 There are a suite of seven measures for on-farm investments available under the TAMS scheme which has been opened for applications in rolling three month tranches.

Now at this time of the year the basic payment maps are being sent out to farmers along with their entitlements list. The same rules apply in 2019 in regard to the sale of entitlements without lands with the Department clawing back 20% to go to the National Reserve for young farmers. The Young Farmer and national reserve is open again this year with approx 3 million available.
The dedline for both the NR/YFS and BPS is the same in 2019 and that is May 15th.
Other deadlines in March is that nitrates reports as a result of cronss compliance inspections must be returned to the Department no later than march 31st 2019.