Feed-in-Tarriffs for Solar Power

If you have solar panels installed on your property there will likely be a certain amount of electricity which goes unused in your home at that moment. This power is then sent back into the grid through your connection.

What feed-in tariffs do is allow homes with solar panels to get paid for that excess electricity. The same as you pay a rate of Xc per unit (kWh) of electricity used on your electricity bills, the feed-in tariff also pays per unit of electricity exported.

The current feed-in-tariff prices offered by Ireland’s electricity providers range from 25c per kWh to 15.9c per kWh. Prices are subject to change and may be altered by electricity suppliers as they choose. 

Prices correct as of January 2025

You can choose the electricity provider with the best feed-in tariff, but you also have to sign up with that provider for your electricity.

Households are only able to sell electricity to the same provider they are buying it from. This means that if your house has solar panels, or if you are thinking of getting solar panels, then the feed-in tariff is something to take into account when choosing electricity plans.

Any household with surplus electricity from microgeneration such as solar panels or a wind turbine is eligible for the feed-in tariff. The only requirement is that you must have a smart meter installed if you are currently eligible for one.

The amount of energy generated by your home’s solar PV system which is not being used, and getting sent back to the grid, will depend on its size and your electricity consumption.

A smaller setup with 2kWp worth of solar panels is far more likely to see the majority of power it generates consumed in the home than a 7kWp system.

It also depends on how much electricity you use, and when you use it. A home with the occupants out of the house for much of the day, at work or at school, will see more energy exported compared to one where people are at home much of the day.

Households might export anywhere from 10% to 40% of the electricity generated by their solar panels depending on factors listed.

It is possible to take advantage of historically low prices for solar panels to get a solar PV system larger than strictly necessary in order to get the most out of a feed in-tariff,

Anyone installing solar panels on their home should aim to be able to produce approximately 75% of their electricity consumption at least. 

As the average home in Ireland uises 4,200kWh of electricity a year, then a solar PV system of 3.52kWp, consisting of 8 solar panels, should fit that need.

However, getting 8 solar panels installed on your home could cost in the region of €6,200 after getting the SEAI grant. Whereas getting 12 solar panels installed (5.3kWp) would only cost slightly more at approximately €7,400.

This is only a moderate increase in cost, but would increase the power capacity from 3,000kWh a year to 4,500kWh a year.

Having a larger system, 12 panels as opposed to 8, with more energy to sell via a feed-in tariff or store in a battery, can knock as much as a year and a half off the time it takes for the solar panels to pay for themselves.