Irish people will soon be able to take a stake in local renewable energy projects

IRISH PEOPLE WILL soon be able to invest in and take ownership of renewable energy projects in their areas under a new government scheme.

Environment Minister Denis Naughten recently told the Energy Ireland conference in Dublin that his department is planning an initiative that will include “opportunities for community investment in all renewable projects”.

In a statement to Fora, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment said that it will publish “a set of high-level principles for the new scheme next month”.

The department did not state how exactly the scheme will function, saying that the final elements of the initiative are subject to public consultation and have yet to be finalised.

The PSO subsidy is currently charged to all Irish electricity customers and is mainly used to fund the development of renewable energy and peat. It costs the average domestic electricity user about €80 a year, and the average small business user about €280 a year.

The energy watchdog announced last year that the levy was set to rise this year to help pay for more renewable energy developments.