Minister for Education and Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communication have commenced the first phase of the Solar for Schools Programme.

The scheme will provide eligible schools with six kilowatts of roof-mounted solar PV, which equates to approximately 16 solar panels. Schools will be supported to reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint in order to meet the 2030 and 2050 Climate Action Plan targets for the schools sector. To allow review and discussion of the energy generated, monitoring software will also be provided to each school.

Schools will be able to generate income by powering other homes and businesses with clean energy when schools are closed at weekends and during school holidays due to the solar PV panels in schools being connected to the electricity grid.

The scheme will be funded by the Government's Climate Action Fund, in line with the Government's recognition that taking action on climate change is central to Ireland’s social and economic development.

Minister for Education Norma Foley TD said: "I am delighted to launch the Solar for Schools scheme today. It will allow up to 4,000 schools nationwide to get solar PV panels to reduce their energy bills and their carbon emissions. This ties in with the strong ethos of environmental awareness and climate sustainability among our students and the wonderful work they do in this area, most notably with the Green Flag initiative."

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Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Ossian Smyth, attended the launch and said: "It's great that schools around the country will now see their electricity bills drop while doing their bit for the climate. Even when the school is closed for the holidays, they will earn money by selling the power they generate back to the grid.

"When I recently visited a school that had solar panels installed, there was huge interest from the students. Each school will have a display screen to let staff and students know how much power is being generated. I am also delighted that teaching materials will be offered to schools so that students can learn about solar power."

The Solar for Schools scheme will be rolled out on a phased basis, commencing with a call for applications to over 1,600 schools from 11 designated areas across the country.

The first phase will open for applications on 30 November 2023. All schools in the first phase will be contacted by the Department and invited to apply from that date. The intention is to include a further eight counties in phase two in Q2 2024 and the remaining eight counties in Q4 2024. It is intended that all eligible schools across the country will have the opportunity to apply to the scheme by end 2024.

The Department of Education will provide school authorities with funding to have the PV panels installed by a registered contractor.

A new online platform, School Hub, has been set up to streamline the process which is part of the Department’s geographic information system (GIS). The online platform will provide a clear application and approvals process for schools applying. Schools will be required to get three quotes from suppliers and submit to the Department of Education via the School Hub for review.