Solar energy sector can create 7,300 jobs

THE deployment of solar power in Ireland will see the creation of more than 7,300 high-value jobs and will help save Ireland from EU fines in excess of €300 million a year from 2020, the Irish Solar Energy Association (ISEA) has said today.

The ISEA is calling on government to introduce a support mechanism for solar, which is currently the only renewable energy technology that does not qualify for any form of a subsidy in Ireland.

The association revealed that in the first two weeks of June, a commercial rooftop installation in the sunny south-east generated 16,000 units of renewable electricity, meaning an established solar energy sector with 2 GW capacity would have produced 7% of Ireland’s total electricity needs.

There were four grid applications submitted for ground mount projects in Co. Mayo up to the end of February.

If supported, the solar sector would create and sustain 7,300 jobs in development, construction and operations.

The use of agricultural land and buildings for solar projects will also benefit the rural economy and the farming sector, while the land can still be used for grazing sheep. The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is backing calls for the development of the solar sector to be supported.

Elsewhere rooftop projects help create the ‘energy citizen’, with businesses and householders able to cut their own energy costs by up to 50%, as well as selling additional power back to the grid.

ISEA is calling for Ireland’s outdated planning guidelines, which restrict the development of solar on homes and businesses, to be modernised.

Ireland is currently on track to fall significantly short on its EU 2020 renewable energy targets where it has committed to generating 40% of our electricity from renewable sources.