Solar Panels with No Upfront Cost for Homes and Businesses

Solar as a Service and Power Purchase Agreements can help homes and businesses to benefit from solar power without the significant investment cost.

Author

Briain Kelly
May 07, 2026

Inside this Edition

  • Getting Solar Panels With No Upfront Cost

  • IEA Warns of Two Year Squeeze on Gas Supplies

  • What Are the Main Components of an EV Charger?

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Getting Solar Panels With No Upfront Cost

Investing in solar power can be a significant cost for homeowners and businesses. While solar panels will pay for themselves many times over in electricity savings, it doesn’t matter if you can’t get them in the first place.

There are ways to get around this, such as Solar as a Service and Power Purchase Agreements that let you get the benefits of solar power without any of the upfront cost.

Solar as a Service - Solar Panels With No Upfront Cost - Energy Efficiency

The significant upfront cost is one of the biggest obstacles to investing in solar panels, but solar leasing agreements can get around this.

Energy Efficiency Ireland

IEA Warns That Pressure on Natural Gas Supplies Will Continue for Two Years

The War with Iran is likely to have major impacts on global gas supplies for the next two years, with significant implications for heating and electricity prices.

The International Energy Agency’s Gas Market Report Q2-2026 notes that the conflict has resulted in the loss of 120 billion cubic meters of LNG for the period up to 2030.

The bulk of the pressure from this loss of supply is expected to be concentrated in the period of 2026/27 the IEA noted in the report.

The losses resulting from the Middle East conflict account for around 15% of the expected global LNG supply over the 2026-2030 period and, as such, will ultimately be offset by the start-up of new liquefaction facilities through the medium term. The impact on growth is largely concentrated through 2026-2027 and, as such, delays the market easing effects of the LNG wave by at least two years.

- IEA Gas Market Report Q2-2026

More than half of this loss has been caused by one attack in Qatar, where back in March Iran launched missile attacks on the Ras Laffan LNG complex.

Repairs to damage from these attacks is expected to take 3 - 5 years. It will also delay further expansion projects that were expected to come online before 2030.

Less than 10% of LNG from Qatar heads to Europe, and that only accounts for 3% of Europe’s gas demand. But in a global market, when supply is cut, prices go up everywhere.

Electricity prices are expected to rise sharply in Ireland this summer, and it may be a long time before they begin to come down again.

What Are the Main Components of an EV Charger?

If you’re getting an important piece of technology, such as an EV charger, it can be useful to know how it works, and the components that make it up.

This is a good starting point for making a comparison between different models, and understanding what’s wrong if something breaks.

Electric Vehicle Charger Components - Energy Efficiency

Your EV Charger may look like a single unit, but it is made up of many hardware and software elements that all have to work together in order for it to

Energy Efficiency Ireland

We hope that you found this week’s article interesting and informative. If you want to keep learning about the latest technologies driving Ireland’s green transformation, then keep reading. Until the next edition.

Briain Kelly,