Government 'very open' to plug-in solar panels

Plug-in solar panels can be plugged directly into a mains socket for energy generation

Energy minister Darragh O’Brien said there has been a significant increase in people looking to access energy grants for heat pumps and solar panels. File picture

Energy minister Darragh O’Brien has said he is “very open” to the introduction of plug-in solar panels as part of efforts to increase renewable energy generation.

Under current regulations, solar panels are only permitted to be installed by professional electricians. These panels must then be registered with the ESB.

Plug-in solar panels, however, can be plugged directly into a mains socket for energy generation. They can be purchased in supermarkets in some European countries.

Responding to parliamentary questions in the Dáil, Mr O’Brien said the Government wanted to make it “easier to deploy” renewable energy technologies and was not ruling out plug‑in solar.

The climate minister acknowledged that officials in his department had raised some “safety concerns”, while noting that the technology has been deployed successfully in countries such as Germany.

“Plug-in solar is not an extremely new technology but there might have been some concerns with it. However, it is not being dismissed,” Mr O’Brien told the Dáil.

Mr O’Brien said the Government’s new critical infrastructure legislation would assist with bigger renewable energy projects, explaining that 33,000 home solar grants were approved last year.

Independent TD Barry Heneghan, who questioned Mr O’Brien, said the introduction of plug-in solar as an option would allow for apartment dwellers to access solar energy.

“These apartment dwellers cannot use their rooftop. The plug-in solar systems which can be bought and installed within 15 minutes are a simple fix that would reduce their energy costs,” he said.

“One of the solutions that I am continuously shouting for, and I will continue to do so until it is done, is plug-in solar.”

Mr Heneghan said Ireland needs to move from being a “petrostate to an electrostate”.

“If anything in the past few months has shown, we need to be completely energy independent,” Mr Heneghan said, pointing to the war in Iran and the impact on oil prices through the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

“Plug-in solar was used by the German government and had a very big success rate. Let’s not reinvent the wheel. Let’s do what has success rates and help the Irish people.”

Meanwhile, Mr O’Brien said there has been a significant increase in people looking to access energy grants for heat pumps and solar panels.

“We also have to look at solar storage and battery storage in homes and at utilising our car batteries through EV and solar,” Mr O’Brien said.

• Tadgh McNally is a political reporter for the Irish Examiner