Major increase in installation of solar panels across Waterford

The reduction in the government's solar PV grant has not impacted the installation of solar panels across Waterford, new SEAI figures show.

According to the data, there were 347 new grant-assisted solar installations in County Waterford during the first six months of 2024, with a 46% increase in installations, between April and June (206) compared to 141 during the first three months of the year.

The first six months of this year saw 13,498 PV systems installed across Ireland with grant support, SEAI statistics show.

This means that Ireland is averaging around 83 SEAI grant-approved installations per day, despite the SEAI grant being cut by €300 on January 1.

Elsewhere, in the first half of this year, 3,014 solar PV installations were in County Dublin. So far in 2024, Cork has had the second most installations with 1,446, followed by Galway with 935, and Meath with 818.

The next highest numbers of installations were in Kildare (722), Wexford (555), Wicklow (549), and Limerick (528).

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Individual Upgrade Grant Scheme

In the first half of 2024, the SEAI provided €54,737,280 for home upgrades through Individual Energy Upgrade Grants.

In County Waterford, there were 636 property upgrades in total, amounting to €1.6 million.

These grants cover solar PV and solar thermal panels, heat pumps, insulation, and heating controls.

Commenting on the solar PV figures for the first half of 2024, James Dorrian, Managing Director of EnergyEfficiency.ie, said the situation is promising.

“There were concerns that the grant reduction would have an effect on solar installation figures – however these figures show that demand remains strong as homeowners look to slash their electricity bills. Before Christmas, some government TDs were critical of the "perplexing" move to reduce the maximum grant to €2,100. Of course, it's impossible to know the true impact of the grant reduction, but the figures are promising."

Mr Dorrian said that while the figures for the second quarter of 2023 are positive, he would be concerned about the effect of further reductions.

“The Government plans to cut the grant by €300 each year until it's gone. But we'd advise caution – as this incentive has clearly worked to date," he stated.