ProSolar designed and installed a 66-panel, 33 kWp solar system for the Fitzgerald family farm at Castlegregory, Co. Kerry — all 66 panels on the cattle-shed roof, feeding the farm and the house as two separate systems, each with its own Sigenergy battery, and a TAMS 3 grant covering 60% of the farm system cost. Surveyed at the end of August 2025, the panels were on the roof within a fortnight and the system was switched on in early October.

Watch Andrew walk the system with our agri solar specialist Ronan O’Connor — from the east-west array on the shed to the battery filling up on morning sun.

The system

• 66 × Trina 505 W panels (33.33 kWp total) — all mounted east-west on the shed’s spaced-sheeting metal roof with a hanger-bolt mounting system
• One roof, two systems: 48 panels supply the farm’s meter through a Sigenergy 12 kW three-phase SigenStor hybrid inverter with 9 kWh of battery storage
• The other 18 panels separately supply the house’s meter through a Sigenergy 5 kW SigenStor with a 5 kWh battery
• The house supply runs from the shed through an 80 m cable trench, with the ESB Networks mini-generation paperwork (NC7) handled by ProSolar

Why east-west?

Farm loads don’t wait for midday. Splitting the array east-west means the panels catch first light and keep producing into the evening, instead of peaking in one big lump at noon — a better match for how a working farm actually uses power. What the panels make but the farm doesn’t need in the moment goes into the batteries rather than out to the grid.

Checking the Sigenergy app has become part of the routine — watching the battery fill on morning sun is, in Andrew’s words, “very satisfying”.

A TAMS application that came through

We’re straight with farmers about TAMS: solar approvals are competitive and many good applications wait a long time. Andrew’s came through — a TAMS 3 grant covering 60% of the farm system, with Accelerated Capital Allowances available on the balance. Just as importantly, the payment terms were staged around the grant: beyond a small application deposit, nothing was due until TAMS acceptance was in hand.

If you’re weighing up the options, our honest guide to the TAMS solar grant covers eligibility, timelines and what to do if you’d rather not wait.

The numbers so far

The system went live on 9 October 2025. Ten months in — a full winter included — here’s what the farm system (the 48-panel side) has done:

• Just over 14,000 units generated between October and the end of July
• In July 2026 the panels made more electricity than the farm used — over 3,000 units in the month, with around 60% of the farm’s consumption coming straight from the roof and battery
• What the farm can’t use is exported for credit rather than wasted

The house system — fed by the other 18 panels — has generated roughly 6,400 units in the same period. Combined, the installation is comfortably on track against its projected output of over 23,000 kWh a year, and — with the TAMS grant and Accelerated Capital Allowances — a payback of under three years.

Thinking about solar on your own farm?

The Fitzgerald installation was surveyed, installed and commissioned by our own crews — no subcontractors — with the survey at the end of August and panels on the roof within a fortnight. Wherever you farm in Ireland, start with our farm solar page, or contact us for a free agri solar assessment.