Renewable energy "utility connected" electricity at the micro level in Ireland is about to enter a new phase of development. Three distinct and separate areas which control this have been undergoing change over the last few months. A new planning exemption regime for renewables, an exemption from licensing up to 1 megawatt (subject to a set of terms & conditions) and a new DSO (ESB Networks) utility connect notification process will now put Ireland in front of many country's in Europe in this respect.

What does all this mean in English: well, people will be able to connect to the grid their own wind turbine or solar electric panels. This has the effect of slowing down your meter by the exact amount of power you are producing. A word of warning however is that if you are not using the power, it will exit your house into the national grid free of charge and no benefit to you. A lot of people still prefer to independent of the grid which has been done for years in Ireland.

Will we get paid, I hear you ask; Metering has to happen at some stage, this is a legal requirement of the RES-E (Renewable Energy Supply - Electricity) Directive where we can trade the units we produce, so it will happen but that will be the next phase of change.

So I should run out and buy myself a new wind turbine and connect it to the grid ?; not that simple, there is another standard coming out called EN50438 due to be published next year and there is also the Feed In Tarrif (FIT) system already deployed in the EU which has filtered through from the large wind farm feed in tariff. What you should be aware of is that, in Europe there is more support for Solar Electricity as opposed to wind. Solar can be deployed in urban areas where as wind does not work in urban areas. To use Spain as an example of the feed in tariff, if you buy a unit of electricity is Spain, it will cost you approx 10 cent, if you export a unit of micro-wind generated electricity, you will get paid 4 cent and if you export a unit of solar photovoltaic electricity, you will get paid 24 cent, 6 times higher so before you rush out the door to buy that grid connected wind turbine, make sure you are dealing with manufacturers and suppliers who know what's happening in the industry. It is in a state of flux at the moment but you can make decisions today which will allow you to change the way you use micro electricity renewables tomorrow.

Good renewable system suppliers will have equipment that can go on grid or off grid in the future as the rules and incentives change.

For more information on utility connections: see our website at www.surfacepower.com or drop us an email to support@surfacepower.com

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