**1. Introduction**

The fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [1] has concluded that human influence on the climate system is clear, and anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) are the highest in history. GHG emissions are driving the increase in global average temperatures by over 1 ◦C above preindustrial times with this trend projected to continue. In Ireland, the burning of fossil fuels for energy generation is the dominant contributor to total national GHG emissions (60% in 2017) [2]. With limited indigenous fossil energy resources, Ireland is significantly dependent on fossil fuel imports which accounted for over 90% of the primary electricity demand in 2017 [2]. The Irish Government is committed to decrease GHG emissions and advance alternative energy sources to reduce the national dependence on fossil fuels (2009/28/EC Renewable Energy Directive (RED)) [3] and has committed to a target of 40% electricity use from renewables by the year 2020 [4]. In Ireland in 2017 only 10.6% energy supply came from renewable sources and the country was ranked 26th out of the European Union (EU)-28 for progress toward meeting 2020 renewable energy target [5]. Overall renewable energy has displaced 1.8 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) of fossil fuel and reduced GHG emissions by 4.2 million tonnes (Mt) CO2 in 2017 (80% from generation of electricity). The renewable electricity sources include wind, hydro, biomass, renewable wastes, landfill gas, biogas and solar PV, however, the level of electricity generation from solar PV remains very low [5]. Ireland is not on track to meet 2020 renewable energy targets which has cost implications of €100 to

€150 million for each percentage point shortfall [4]. The Irish Government has agreed to the binding renewable energy target for 2030 of 32% in line with EU recast RED 2 [6]. Microgeneration of electricity using solar PV system is expected to contribute to meeting these targets mitigating some of the adverse effects of environmental pollution and climate change. The renewable energy sector technologies are evolving rapidly and ensuring higher levels of renewable energy generation will require substantial investments in new infrastructure which includes wind farms, solar PV systems, grid reinforcement, storage development and interconnection. However, high risks and the high up-front costs associated with developing technologies is a major barrier to securing finance. As a result of rapid growth in the use of social media, crowdfunding is increasingly replacing conventional funding models used as an alternative means of funding renewable energy projects [7].
