DRAFT MODE - No emails will be sent to targets. Step One Enter your Details Friends of the Earth has been campaigning to get solar panels on schools and remove obstacles that are preventing homes and businesses from benefiting from solar energy. We've been making progress - households can now finally receive payment for electricity that is produced from roof top solar that’s put into the grid! But we've one final barrier to remove so that everyone can take part in the rooftop revolution! At the moment schools still need planning permission to install even one solar panel on their roof. The planning rules also restrict the number of panels on homes and business. This makes installing solar panels unfeasible for many, due to the added cost and time associated with applying for planning permission. The Government has finally started the last stage in the process to remove these planning restrictions - they're holding a public consultation on the proposed updates to the planning regulations. We can’t take anything for granted - could you use our e-action to make a submission to this consultation today? Doing this would help us send a final message to Government - we want solar on schools now! You can find full information on the public consultation together with the proposed new regulations and background papers here. Solar SEA Commission Solar SEA Submission Your Details Fields marked with an asterisk * must be completed. Name * E-mail * Home Address * Area / Town City / County * City / County * ----- Antrim Armagh (City) Armagh (County) Belfast Carlow Cavan Clare Cork (City) Cork (County) Derry (City) Derry (County) Donegal Down Dublin 1 Dublin 2 Dublin 3 Dublin 4 Dublin 5 Dublin 6 Dublin 6w Dublin 7 Dublin 8 Dublin 9 Dublin 10 Dublin 11 Dublin 12 Dublin 13 Dublin 14 Dublin 15 Dublin 16 Dublin 17 Dublin 18 Dublin 20 Dublin 22 Dublin 24 Dublin (County) Fermanagh Galway (City) Galway (County) Kerry Kildare Kilkenny (City) Kilkenny (County) Laois Leitrim Limerick (City) Limerick (County) Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Tyrone Waterford (City) Waterford (County) Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Country * Country * ------- Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Ter Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte D'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Ter Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle Of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea North Korea South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Nth Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Réunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda St Barthélemy St Helena St Kitts & Nevis St Lucia St Martin St Pierre & Miquelon St Vincent & Grenadines Samoa San Marino São Tomé & Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard & Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks & Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands U.S. Wallis & Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Constituency * Constituency * ------- Not Applicable Carlow / Kilkenny Cavan / Monaghan Clare Cork East Cork North Central Cork North West Cork South Central Cork South West Dún Laoghaire Donegal Dublin Bay North Dublin Bay South Dublin Central Dublin Fingal Dublin Mid-West Dublin North West Dublin Rathdown Dublin South Central Dublin South West Dublin West Galway East Galway West Kerry Kildare North Kildare South Laois / Offaly Limerick City Limerick County Longford / Westmeath Louth Mayo Meath East Meath West Roscommon / Galway Sligo / Leitrim Tipperary Waterford Wexford Wicklow Yes, keep me posted on your campaigning and what I can do. No, I don't want to hear from you again. Only use my personal data to deliver this campaign action. We respect your privacy, read more. Friends of the Earth will send you periodic updates and action alerts by email. We will do our best to respect your time and interest. You can remove yourself from the mailing list at any time by using the link at the bottom of emails we send you. We will not give your email address to anybody else. Check Your Message Message Subject: Edit the email subject line - (optional) Message Text: Dear (each target will get a separate, personalised email), Dear Sir/Madam I want the Government to immediately make good on its promise to update the planning regulations around solar power so that schools can put solar panels on their roofs, without the major expense of planning permission. I'm tired of the repeated delays from the Department for the past 3 years and want to see it resolved immediately. The current planning regulations uniquely penalise schools and community buildings who wish to take part in the energy transition. They need to get planning permission to install even one solar panel, which is very expensive. The transition to renewable energy in Ireland requires community buy-in and will be made all the better if schools and communities can get involved. The 2019 and 2021 Climate Action Plans included commitments to complete a review of the planning regulation with a view to updating them. The Government has repeatedly ignored these deadlines. The repeated delays in producing necessary updates to planning regulations makes a mockery of the Government’s commitment to improved coordination and accountability on climate action. We now know that gas and oil are not only driving the climate crisis but are also fuelling the Russian war-machine. The solution to this gas-fuelled crisis is to reduce our gas dependency, especially through measures which are available right now like solar panels on roofs. The proposed changes will mean that more solar can be installed on schools, houses and other buildings. It is noted in the assessment that these changes would not result in significant environmental impacts on areas of conservation and would significantly add to Ireland’s efforts to reduce emissions in accordance with our climate obligations. Therefore, I support these proposed updates regulations, in particular the introduction of a new category for educational and community buildings to ensure that planning permission will only be required in limited circumstances. Now that the necessary environmental assessment has been completed, the draft regulations should be finalised and immediately approved by the Minister for Housing. There must be no further delays. Yours sincerely etc, Edit the email text - (optional) Next Step - Preview your message → Categorised in: Energy Tagged with: Community Energy solar Solar Schools