Connect a Community-led Renewable Energy Project
As outlined in Section 2.4.1 of the Enduring Connection Policy Stage 2 (ECP-2) Decision, CRU/20/060, published by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), Community-led Renewable Energy Projects are defined as*:
(1) Projects with a Maximum Export Capacity (MEC) greater than or equal to 0.5 MW and less than or equal to 5 MW
(2) Projects meeting the following requirements:
(a) at all relevant times, be at least 51% owned by a Renewable Energy Community (the “Relevant REC”) either by way of (i) a direct ownership of the ECP project’s assets, or (ii) a direct ownership of the shares in the generator; and
(b) at all relevant times, at least 51% of all expected profits, dividends and surpluses derived from project are returned to the Relevant REC.
*In relation to Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auctions, it was announced in February 2021 by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications that there will be a new requirement for community-led projects to be 100% community-owned in order to apply for future RESS auctions. The above criteria may therefore be subject to change under future auctions.
Note: for connections made after September 2018 some Distribution Code conditions may change, arising from the need to be aligned with European Network Codes. For more information on this see our European Network Codes page.
Community-led Renewable Energy Projects
The following are examples of different types of renewable energy generation technologies:
- Wind turbines (wind)
- Solar photovoltaic panels (solar)
- Hydraulic turbines (hydro) excluding pumped storage
- Waste to energy projects
- Biomass projects and biogas projects
Note: Renewable energy generation technologies may not be used in combination with non-renewable generation technologies.
Application Fees
For New Applicants, an initial application fee deposit of €2,000 (including VAT) is required for MEC > 500 kW. The full application fee (including VAT) is required for MEC ≤ 500 kW.
For Existing Applicants, no new, initial application fee deposit is required should they decide to apply under ECP-2.
The Full Application fees for connection to both the transmission and distribution system under ECP-2 are set
out in the table below:
| MIC and MEC Capacity Ranges |
A
Demand
Capacity (MIC) |
B
Generation
Capacity (MEC) |
C
Shallow Works
|
| > 50kW ≤ 500kW |
€0 |
€1,577 |
€0 |
| > 500kW ≤ 1 MW |
€0 |
€8,956 |
€0 |
| > 1 MW ≤ 4 MW |
€12,631 |
€18,347 |
€0 |
| > 4 MW ≤ 10 MW |
€21,839 |
€18,566 |
€18,566 |
Table 1 - ECP-2 Connection Application Fees (ex-VAT@23%)
Demand only: Fee = AMIC + CMIC - D
Generation Only: Fee = BMEC + CMEC - D
Demand and Generation: Fee = AMIC + BMEC + MAX [CMEC, CMIC] - D
Where D is the sum of the credits for the pre-feasibility and advanced works studies still relevant.
Determination of D will be calculated by the relevant System Operator
For any other queries related to ECP-2 Community-led renewable energy projects please refer to Section 2.4 of the
Enduring Connection Policy Stage 2 (ECP-2) Decision CRU/20/060 or email us at
communityenergy@esbnetworks.ie.