Properly funded schemes must be put in place to support the development of farm scale community-based renewable energy projects, according to the Irish Farmers' Association IFA).

Despite welcoming the recently announced Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), IFA Renewable Energy Project Team Leader Tom Short, said one of the main flaws with switching fromfeed in tariffs to an auction type system is that it favours larger scale projects, particularly wind, "to the exclusion of small to medium farm scale community-based projects".

-- Advertisement --

"Farm scale community-based projects deliver significant value added to rural communities as they utilise local resources, including labour," he said.

"This would result in a significant spin off into local communities, as has been the experience across many EU Member States. In addition, farm-based projects will help to decarbonise food production.

"The financial viability of medium sized farm scale community-based projects is very much predicated on certainty around income generation. Financial institutions and investors will not become involved in or back off these projects under an auction-based system as it fails to provide a guaranteed cashflow."

(LM)