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.

Fergal Monaghan from Yourcommonage is the Project Manager for the new Hen Harrier Locally Led Agri Environment Scheme

Hen Harrier Locally Led Agri- Environment Scheme.

The Hen Harrier Project are the lead partner in a consortium appointed by the Dept. of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to design and run the Hen Harrier Locally led Agri-Environment Scheme. The other partners in the project are the Golden Eagle Trust and Brendan O Gorman Accountants. Fergal Monaghan from the yourcommonage team is the new project manager for the delivery of the Hen Harrier programme.

The Hen Harrier Project will be based in Oranmore, Co. Galway. The head office is supported by regionally based Project Officers. To help design and test the new approach, a group of 12 development farmers have been selected, spread across the 6 Hen Harrier Special Protection Areas. The development of effective and practical opportunities for farmers in the SPAs cannot be done in an office. The project must be built from the ground up. The development farms give the project the ability to design and test their proposals at farm level. The farmers themselves supplement the project teams skills and capacity and give a unique insight into the issues at farm level. 

The Hen Harrier Project will give farmers in the Hen Harrier designated areas an opportunity to earn an additional income from their lands. It will recognise and reward their role in delivering important environmental services. The project will support habitat enhancement and let farmers share in the environmental dividend that this delivers. These supports will be in addition to GLAS. 

We at yourcommonage support this new direction in the delivery of agri environmental opportunities to farmers and wish the team the very best for the future.

Support Fergal and the team by following the Hen Harrier Project on twitter. You can get there by following this link. 

 https://twitter.com/HenHarrierProj

Results of the open call for EIP proposals.

 Minister Creed Announces Selection of 22 Projects for the Next Phase of The European Innovation Partnerships Initiative The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D. today announced the results of a competitive process to select proposals to proceed to Round 2 of the European Innovation Partnerships Initiative (EIP). The EIP forms part of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020, and is centred on groups of actors coming together to develop and implement their innovative ideas for how they propose to address challenges they have identified. 

The Minister commented “I am delighted to see the EIP progressing to this next phase which provides an important opportunity to respond to challenges in our sector in a new way. The proposals received in response to this call are of a very high quality and a clear indication that the EIP initiative is recognised in the rural economy as a very useful approach to addressing challenges in a collaborative and innovative way.” 

“The 22 projects which have now been selected to progress to the next phase will now be funded to develop a detailed project plan for their projects. A number of these proposals will then be selected to move forward to the full implementation phase. ” 

Support for this element of the EIP is structured around a competitive fund, whereby an open call for proposals addressing key challenges in the agri-food sector was put in place. In effect, there are two streams within this call which will be administered via the same process throughout. The first stream is focused on themes such as farm viability, economic performance, sustainable forest management, and innovative technologies. The second stream is focused on challenges related to environmental, biodiversity and climate change issues. 

The Minister added “I am delighted to see that the EIP proposals successful at this stage of the process seek to address a wide range of challenges in the sector. Successful proposals include projects to address such diverse themes as water quality, the restoration of upland peats, developing the potential of biomass, livestock management and production, forestry, organic production methods, food chain management, and a number of biodiversity challenges. This shows the potential of the EIP to encourage innovative approaches to the challenges facing the agri-food sector.” 

Round 1 of this competitive process started in December, 2016 with an initial call for proposals using a simple application form. All proposals have now been evaluated by a selection committee with reference to criteria such as value for money, relevance to the EIP programme, and compatibility with Rural Development Priorities. This generated a shortlist of 22 applicants chosen to go forward to Round 2, and these will be funded to prepare detailed project plans. Following assessment of these detailed project plans, a final shortlist will be drawn up for implementation on the ground. 

A further open call under the EIP will issue later this year. An overall funding package of €24 million has been allocated to support EIPs under these two calls. 

Information on the European Innovation Partnership initiative can be accessed on the Department website at www.agriculture.gov.ie or by contacting eip@agriculture.gov.ie 

The projects selected for the next phase of the EIP Initiative are:

1. Ovi Data Increasing sheep genetic gain in Ireland through commercial data capture Sheep Cork/Kerry. 
2. Flock Health and Production Focus Group The challenges associated with flock health and lamb production Sheep Sligo/Leitrim.
3. Silva Biome Novel silvacultural systems for multifunctional forestry on industrial cutaway peatlands Forestry Dublin and Meath.
4. Carbery Alliance for Sustainable Protein Sustainable Protein in Dairy Protein/Dairy Cork Kerry. Maximising Organic Production Systems (MOPS).
5. Maximising organic production through integrated cropping systems. Organics Countrywide.
6. The Connected Farmer Shortening the supply chain by connecting producers to the end consumer using a novel blockchain online platform approach Food Chain Mayo.
7. Irish Biochar Cooperative Society Biomass to Bio carbon for Farm Bio economy Biomass Limerick/Clare.
8. Robinia Ireland Robinia – new tree species for Irish Forestry Forestry Countrywide.
9. Irish Breeding Curlew Conservation Group Conservation of Breeding Curlew in Central Ireland. Birds/ Biodiversity Galway/Midlands.
10. Nephin Beg Uplands Farming Group Nephin Beg Locally Led Environmental Project Peat Uplands Mayo.
11. BRIDE Project Group Biodiversity Regeneration in a Dairying environment Dairy Cork/Kerry.  
12. ECT (Enable Conservation Tillage) Wider adaptation of sustainable conservation tillage systems Tillage Tipperary, Laois.
13. Duncannon Sustainable Farming Association Duncannon Sustainable Farming Scheme Water Quality Wexford.
14. Caomhnú árann Managing the habitats of the Aran Islands to maximise their agricultural and ecological output Biodiversity Aran Islands. 
15. DANÚ Farming Group Biological Farming Transition Programme Biodiversity Countrywide 
16. Maigue River Operational Group Water and Agriculture – delivering environmental and economic sustainability Water Cork.
17. Callows Farming and Wildlife Conservation Partnership The Callows farmland biodiversity Conservation Project Birds/ Biodiversity Connaught.
18. Rush Control and Pesticide Water Quality Action Group Disseminating best management practices for rush control to improve the productivity of grassland and minimise herbicide residue loss to drinking water Water Countrywide.
19. Wicklow Uplands Council Sustainable Uplands Agri-Environment Scheme (SUAS) Peat Uplands Wicklow.
20. Grazing for Ecosystem Services Group The use of GPS technology in hill farming Eco systems Connaught.
21. Blackstairs Farming Futures Partnership Delivering more for nature and sustainable farming in the Blackstairs Mountains Peat Uplands Carlow/Wexford.
22. Limerick Lesser Horseshoe Bat Farm Project Farm Links to Lessers - a farming biodiversity project for lesser horseshoe bats in Limerick Biodiversity Limerick

Clawback on the sale of entitlements sold without land cut to 20%

Minister Creed announces cut in clawback on sale of entitlements to 20%

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D., has today announced a cut in the amount of clawback applied to the sale of Basic Payment Scheme entitlements without land.  In 2016 the sale of entitlements without land was subject to a clawback of 50% of the number of entitlements sold.

The Minister commented “based on the experience of the level of sales of entitlements without land in 2016, I believe that a reduction in the level of claw-back to 20% is appropriate for 2017 and will assist farmers in future business planning”.

Following recent consultation between the Department and the Direct Payments Advisory Committee, comprising members of the main farming bodies and agricultural advisory and education providers, the Minister has decided that the level of clawback on the sale of entitlements without land in 2017 should be cut to 20%.

The proceeds arising from the implementation of clawback are used to replenish the National Reserve fund.