The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has issued a new planning circular confirming a further change to the commencement date for mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment scoping requirements for certain renewable energy projects.
Circular CEPP 2/2026, published on 30 April 2026, informs planning authorities, An Coimisiún Pleanála and other stakeholders that the European Union (Planning and Development) (Renewable Energy) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 have been made. The regulations were signed by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne on 29 April 2026 and came into operation on that date.
The practical effect of the new regulations is narrow but important. They amend Regulation 38(2) of the European Union (Planning and Development) (Renewable Energy) Regulations 2025, changing the commencement date for Regulations 6, 12, 14 and 18 of that 2025 instrument. Those provisions relate to the introduction of mandatory EIA scoping for renewable energy projects that fall within Article 16b of the EU Renewable Energy Directive. The new commencement date is 1 November 2026.
The change means that the mandatory EIA scoping requirements will not begin on 1 May 2026, as previously scheduled; instead, they will apply from 1 November 2026. The circular states that the Department will continue to engage with stakeholders to support readiness for the ongoing implementation of RED III, the EU’s revised Renewable Energy Directive.
The amendment is the latest adjustment to Ireland’s phased implementation of RED III planning provisions. The 2025 regulations originally provided that the relevant amendments would come into operation on 1 October 2025. That date was later changed to 1 May 2026 by S.I. No. 435 of 2025. The new 2026 regulations move the date again, this time to 1 November 2026.
Although the circular is short, it sits within a much wider planning and energy policy context. The European Union’s revised Renewable Energy Directive, known as RED III, entered into force in 2023 and amended the earlier 2018 Renewable Energy Directive. Its purpose includes accelerating the deployment of renewable energy across Member States, partly through streamlined permit-granting procedures.
Ireland transposed several RED III planning provisions through S.I. No. 274 of 2025. That instrument amended the Planning and Development Act 2000 and introduced new rules for renewable energy development, repowering projects, solar energy development, heat pumps, energy storage and associated grid connection works. The regulations define renewable energy broadly, including wind, solar, geothermal, ocean energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogas.
The 2025 regulations also introduced a completeness check process for certain applications. Under the new section 34D inserted into the Planning and Development Act 2000, planning authorities must, within 45 days of receiving an application for renewable energy development, repowering development, relevant solar energy development or small-scale solar energy equipment development, either acknowledge that the application is complete or request that the applicant submit a complete application without undue delay.
That completeness check is important because it is linked to the start of RED III permit-granting timelines. An Coimisiún Pleanála’s guidance for applicants states that the acknowledgement of completeness is what triggers the start of the permit-granting timeline. The Commission has also said that, for Strategic Infrastructure Renewable Energy Development submitted directly to it, the new RED III provisions include mandatory permit-granting timelines, a completeness check process, and mandatory scoping for Environmental Impact Assessment Reports from 1 November 2026.
The new circular concerns the scoping element rather than the full RED III framework. EIA scoping is the process through which the planning authority or An Coimisiún Pleanála gives an opinion on the scope and level of detail to be included in an Environmental Impact Assessment Report. For renewable energy and repowering development covered by the relevant provisions, this step will become mandatory from 1 November 2026.
An Coimisiún Pleanála’s guidance states that any application lodged with the Commission for renewable energy development from 1 November 2026 will be subject to mandatory EIA scoping. It also notes that an application submitted from that date will require mandatory EIA scoping even where the pre-application process has already closed.
For applicants, this means project sequencing will matter. The Commission’s guidance explains that, under section 37D of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended, a request for a scoping opinion can only be made once a notice has been served to a prospective applicant under section 37B(4)(a). In practical terms, the pre-application stage must be complete before the scoping opinion can be requested.
The RED III changes are intended to make renewable energy planning more predictable, but they also place greater importance on complete and high-quality documentation. An Coimisiún Pleanála has advised prospective applicants that it is within the applicant’s control to ensure that an application is complete, including the quality of plans, drawings and environmental assessments. The Commission’s guide says these matters should be addressed with planning authorities and the Commission at pre-application stage.
The planning changes also apply across a broad set of renewable energy technologies. The Commission’s guidance states that RED III provisions apply to onshore and offshore renewable energy development. It also notes that developments incorporating one or more technologies falling within the statutory definition of renewable energy may be subject to the relevant decision-making timelines, although the applicable procedural pathway remains a matter for the relevant planning authority in each case.
The 2025 regulations set different decision timelines for different categories of development. For renewable energy development with an electrical capacity of 150 kW or more, the planning authority must make its decision before the expiry of 52 weeks from the date the application is acknowledged as complete, subject to specific provisions. For renewable energy development below 150 kW and repowering development, the relevant period is generally 30 weeks. For relevant solar energy development, the decision period is eight weeks, and for small-scale solar energy equipment and certain small-scale non-ground source heat pumps, the decision period is four weeks.
For applications made directly to An Coimisiún Pleanála, the Commission’s guidance identifies permit-granting timelines of 52 weeks for onshore projects, 30 weeks for onshore repowering, 65 weeks for offshore projects and 52 weeks for offshore repowering. It also states that there will be limited opportunities for the Commission to seek further information, and that the permit-granting timeline cannot be stopped and restarted.
The delay to mandatory EIA scoping should therefore be seen as a change to the implementation timetable, not a reversal of the broader RED III planning reforms. The completeness check process, permit-granting timelines and other renewable energy planning provisions remain part of the statutory framework introduced through S.I. No. 274 of 2025. The 2026 amendment changes the start date only for Regulations 6, 12, 14 and 18 of the 2025 regulations. (Government of Ireland Assets)
The change comes as Ireland continues to face pressure to increase renewable electricity deployment. The Government’s Climate Action Plan 2025 states that Ireland is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51 percent by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. SEAI states that Ireland’s updated National Energy and Climate Plan includes an objective to increase the renewable electricity share to 80 percent by 2030.
At the same time, delivery challenges remain significant. The Environmental Protection Agency said in May 2025 that Ireland was projected to achieve a reduction of up to 23 percent in total greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared with the national target of 51 percent, even assuming full implementation of a wide range of policies and measures.
Against that background, planning reform is likely to remain a central part of the renewable energy debate. Supporters of faster planning processes argue that Ireland needs clearer timelines and more predictable procedures to deliver wind, solar, storage and grid-related infrastructure. Environmental and community stakeholders are likely to focus on whether streamlined processes still allow proper assessment, public participation and legal compliance.
Circular CEPP 2/2026 does not make a policy argument on those wider issues. It simply notifies planning authorities and other stakeholders of the revised commencement date for mandatory EIA scoping. However, the six-month postponement gives planning authorities, An Coimisiún Pleanála, applicants and environmental consultants more time to prepare for a procedural change that will become a standard part of many renewable energy planning applications from November 2026.
For developers, the message is that renewable energy planning applications lodged from 1 November 2026 may need to account for mandatory EIA scoping as an additional stage in the consenting sequence. For planning authorities, the circular confirms the need to continue preparing for RED III implementation while applying the revised statutory timetable. For the wider public, the change is another example of how Ireland’s planning system is being adjusted to meet renewable energy targets while remaining within EU environmental law.
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