District heating: Where the ESB pays you for a change
I am going to hold my hands up and say that I am not entirely sure how this one works. Aparantly, there are new plans on the way where members of the public who generate more energy than they need, through for example, solar panels on their roof, will be able to have that energy harnassed, and piped into the electricity grid, and get paid for it by the ESB.
If you want more information on this, you can either contact ESB customer supply. The first four thousand people who sign up for it will receive 19c for every kilowatt hour they put into the ESB grid. If your not an ESB customer you will only get 10c for every Kilowatt hour.
Below is the press release from the Green Party’s James Nix. Best I post it unedited it might make more sense.
Nix says new rules allowing electricity to be sold back to the ESB will cut costs, boost jobs and help meet our environmental commitments.
James Nix, the Green Party’s candidate in the city’s North Ward, said we send 6 billion euro abroad every year to buy fossil fuels, and this new initiative is a major step in keeping this money in Ireland to been spent on wind, solar, hydro and district heating schemes.
Highlighting the new incentives, James Nix said that local producers of energy will now be paid for spare power they generate. “Until now we have lived with an electricity network designed to accommodate the flow of electricity from large centralised plants to customers spread throughout the country. We to to change to deal with the challenges ahead and micro-generation at local level now introduces two-way flows to the electricity system. Local generators will be paid by the ESB for electricity that is surplus to their own requirements and the energy can be sold on to where it’s needed.”
District heating offers great promise in Limerick, according to James Nix. We’re lucky in having a steady supply of wood reasonably close to the city; burning timber in district heating plants generates electricity as well as heat for local homes, according to James.
The first 4,000 people to sign up to the scheme with the ESB will get a guaranteed price of 19 cents per kWh. Non ESB customers will get 10c per kWh. “This initiative paves the way for local power generation, whether it’s harnessing the tide of the Shannon or district heating schemes using local wood. Green policy will help people to lower their energy costs and to fight climate change.
“The rules have changed. Before, you received your power from a central source and paid for it. Now you can generate for yourself and be paid for the excess you don’t use. We can use our abundant natural resources to bolster the economy, create skilled, lasting, green-collar jobs and reduce carbon emissions at the same time.
“This type of long-term investment with a guaranteed return, represents the best value for spending and lending. “By generating power at home from clean, renewable sources, we will improve our energy independence and keep more money in Ireland. We do not want to be dependent on Russia, Saudi Arabia or even England for our energy needs; we can supply our own.”