Ireland recorded more than 10,000 applications for solar PV as part of its home energy upgrade program from January to March 2026, an increase of 65% on the same period for last year.
The numbers show that residential solar in Ireland is steadily gaining popularity as applications for PV panels leads the government’s home energy upgrade scheme. Applications for Ireland’s home energy upgrade scheme are up 96% so far in 2026, according to new data released by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). The state-run organization in charge of administering the scheme revealed it processed more than 29,000 applications in the period from January to March of this year.
Of this 29,000 figure, more than 10,000 applications were for solar PV – representing an increase of 65% year on year. Heat pumps and attic insulation application segments recorded the highest percentages of year-on-year growth, however.
Applications for attic insulation were up 81% year on year with more than 1,730 recorded, while heat pump applications were up by 95%. Despite the high percentage of year-on-year growth for heat pumps, the segment only received around 350 applications.
Overall, the government is targeting 73,000 home energy upgrades in 2026 and it allocated €640 million ($751.1 million) to the scheme in its 2026 budget. The State also added some categories to the scheme specifically designed to alleviate energy poverty, such as the new energy poor grants. Since the March 2026 launch, more than 150 applications have been recorded.
William Walsh, CEO, SEAI addressed the fact high energy costs are a concern for many households, leading to increased interest in energy upgrade grants. Ireland’s Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien pointed out that applications to the SEAI for individual home energy upgrades are up 186% on the first quarter of last year.
“In the first quarter of the year, data shows a very clear and positive upward trend, with evidence of substantial growth in both demand and output,” the minister added. Since 2019, more than a quarter of a million home energy upgrades have been delivered.
Ireland added 1 GW of PV in total in 2025, according to data from Solar Ireland. Utility-scale dominated but residential and rooftop PV also showed strong resilience.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Popular content
Source link