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The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Eamon Ryan TD, today announced the 39 community projects to receive grant funding of €28 million under the Community Energy Grant Scheme.
The grants, administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), will support projects with a total investment value of almost €74 million. This investment will deliver energy upgrades to nearly 1,500 homes and community and commercial buildings throughout the country. The successful communities will benefit from warmer and healthier buildings, lower energy bills, and reduced harmful CO2 emissions. The projects will also deliver significant employment benefits locally and nationally.
The grant offers include €4.3 million specifically for projects delivering aggregated home retrofit upgrades. There are 14 such projects comprising 348 homes.
Speaking today, Minister Ryan said:
"Through this scheme, the Government is helping to deliver three important and very beneficial outcomes. We are supporting people to improve their homes and buildings so they will be more comfortable and waste less energy. We are expanding retrofit work, creating new green sustainable jobs in communities across Ireland and helping to grow companies. We are also cutting emissions thereby delivering a better environment for all of us. I intend to use funding from the recently announced July stimulus package to expand the Communities Scheme so we can further grow the retrofit sector and benefit many more people in the months and years ahead."
William Walsh, CEO of SEAI said:
"The Government's Climate Action Plan recognises the central role of communities in achieving our climate action ambitions. SEAI is working with hundreds of energy communities across the country, providing them with the knowledge and the means to plan their own ambitious low-carbon pathway. Government funded grants are a key support for communities ready to invest in sustainable energy solutions to meet their needs. The achievements of these communities can be replicated, drawing more citizens into Ireland's clean energy transition."
Examples of projects that will benefit from the funding include:
ENDS
Minister Ryan joined William Walsh (CEO SEAI) and Joe Donnelly (Fair Play Café) at the Fair Play Café in Ringsend to make the announcement.
The Fair Play Café is a community space in Ringsend, Dublin with a café, childcare facility and garden centre, who received funding in 2019. The centre benefits the local community in a very practical sense. And the net profits each year are distributed to different projects in Ireland and abroad.
The café is housed in Mission Hall which was originally built by two sisters from the Bewley's family. According to the sisters' last will and testament, it had to be kept in perpetuity and each generation had to name trustees. The trustees approached locals, Joe and Sharon Donnelly, to see if the building could be used and what facilities were most needed in the community. They had a big job to do in taking it from the 19 century to a 21 century building.
The Fair Play Café is transitioning to a zero-carbon community building and a hub for sustainability. The Ringsend Irishtown Sustainable Energy Community put together a proposal to upgrade the building and partnered with the Rediscovery Centre to apply for the 2019 SEAI communities grant. They want to showcase the benefits of sustainable energy. To determine what energy improvements were needed, they first conducted an energy audit. Based on their findings they decided to improve their heating system and install renewable electricity.
Advanced heating controls allow time and temperature control of different zones within the centre with remote access. This prevents unnecessary heating when the centre is not in use. They also put in an insulated door to reduce heat loss and draughts creating a more comfortable space. As a result, they are using 25% less gas. They installed energy efficient LED lighting which has saved 20% of total electricity consumption. They also installed 3 kW of solar PV which meets 16% of total electricity consumption. The upgrades cost €16,600 and they received a grant of €8,300 from SEAI. The centre has seen energy savings of almost 12,000Wh, which is the equivalent of heating a house for a year. As a result of all the upgrades, they are making energy savings of €1,300 each year.
Key data for Government funded SEAI community energy grant awards 2020
Check out this video story of a community in Arranmore Island who recently received funding for energy upgrades: