The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has stressed that all solar photo-voltaic (PV) installations under the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) grant process must be signed off by a “registered” electrician.
According to Minister Charlie McConalogue Solar PV systems grant-aided under TAMS 3 must comply with specification S198 and that it must be a “registered Safe Electric Ireland electrician” who completes the relevant forms.
The minister told the Dáil: “I wish to point out that any solar PV installer included on my department’s solar PV registered installer list is required to submit a completed solar PV installer registration form and an up-to-date certificate of public and employer’s liability insurance.
“It is also a requirement that the electrician has completed training courses in solar photovoltaic panel implementation and electrical installation of microgenerators.
“A Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, award certification for training modules 6N0306 and 6N0307 or equivalent is acceptable. There are a number of training providers nationwide for these courses.”
But the Fine Gael TD for Cork East, David Stanton, highlighted to the minister in the Dáil what he described as “a big gap” in relation to the issue of electrical contractors and forms for the solar PV systems under TAMS 3.
Solar PV
Deputy Stanton told the Dáil that “more than half of the TAMS 2 processed grants were processed on the basis of forms that were not from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) but from Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) instead.
“Those forms are not the same. There is a big anomaly here,” he warned.
Deputy Stanton also claimed that there “is no way of checking” whether the person who completes Form S198 “is an approved Safe Electric Ireland installer”.
“If a person has been taken off the Safe Electric Ireland list, there does not seem to be any way of checking that.
“In addition, the Department of Agriculture has one list of companies and installers.
“However, SEAI has two lists, one list for companies and a separate list for installers. There are huge anomalies here,” Deputy Stanton added.
He said that DAFM had accepted applications under TAMS 3 – which includes solar PV panels and solar PV rechargeable batteries – “that did not come in the shape of the official S198 forms”.
“More than half of them were for TAMS 2.
“The number is 129 of 236 paid. This is very serious. I ask the minister to set up an inquiry into it as a matter of urgency,” the Fine Gael TD for Cork East said.