Irish Examiner view: Learning to plan for the ‘dark doldrums’

We are well used to the dark doldrums, but when solar power becomes increasingly central to our plans for net zero, it may have us searching our wallets to pay increased charges

Difficult driving conditions for motorists heading south on Sunday, as heavy snow falls on the M7 motorway in Kildare. Picture: Eamonn Farrell / © RollingNews.ie

Caught in the middle of what we must learn to call a “multi-hazard weather event”, it is a nod to the future to learn that more than two thirds of all schools now either have solar panels installed or have gone to tender for the project.

Since the first phase of the solar for schools programme was launched in 2023, more than 1,000 have been installed across 11 counties. Since October, when the scheme was extended nationwide, more than 1,660 schools have successfully entered the tender stage of the €50m process.