Pathfinder partners
Learn about the public sector partnerships established through the Pathfinder programme, their achievements and plans.
Department of Education
The Department of Education and SEAI are working together to create an accurate and scalable model to retrofit Ireland’s schools.
Through trialling and testing energy efficiency and renewable heat technologies, the programme is paving the way to decarbonise the schools’ sector at a national scale.
-
2017
programme started -
41
schools retrofitted by 2021 -
2050
target of Net Zero for 2050
Key achievement timeline
Year | No. of Schools | Strategy | GWh savings | tCO2 Savings |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 10 | Capacity development and energy efficiency | 1.3 | 263 |
2018 | 6 | Capacity development and energy efficiency | 1 | 202 |
2019 | 16 | Capacity development, energy efficiency and procurement methods | 2 | 404 |
2020 | 7 | Capacity development, procurement methods and cost-optimal BER B solutions | 1.4 | 269 |
2021 | 9 | Capacity development, procurement methods, BER B solutions, deep retrofit and renewable heat | ongoing | ongoing |
“The Pathfinder programme is a great example of how, working together on pilot energy efficiency and decarbonisation projects, we can establish approaches to ensure compatibility with school design and operational requirements on a scalable basis”.
Health Service Executive
In 2018 the HSE partnered with SEAI and established a joint co-funding partnership agreement to progress energy efficiency and shallow retrofit projects for the HSE. An Energy Bureau was formed to progress the energy and decarbonisation agenda under three pillars:
- Energy Management Bureau and support of Local Energy Management Teams.
- A programme of retrofit works comprising capital works (major and minor) and centrally coordinated retrofit projects of varying scales.
- Energy Efficient Design (EED) approach for all new and replacement assets.
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2018
HSE / SEAI Partnership to establish Energy Bureau -
2020
Pathfinder programme started -
104
Shallow retrofit measures across 48 buildings funded for 2021 -
10
buildings selected to develop Stage 1 design and feasibility studies
Deep retrofit decarbonisation pathway
Further to the revised targets outlined in the Governments Climate Action Plan, in 2021 the HSE and SEAI broadened the scope of the partnership agreement. The Pathfinder Programme seeks to develop a deep retrofit decarbonisation pathway for existing HSE facilities and identify the various challenges that may need to be overcome across the organisation.
It is the HSE and SEAI’s ambition to progress 10 no. Pilot HSE facilities through this revised approach in 2022. The pilot projects will be undertaken across existing HSE facilities. The overall objective is to quantify, assess and evaluate various technical and financial solutions for deep retrofits of healthcare settings. In addition, the pathfinder aims to further develop a strategy to deliver a large-scale renovation programme across the wiser health sector.
Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Higher Education Authority (DFHERIS & HEA)
SEAI's Pathfinder partnership with DFHERIS and the HEA began in 2020. The aim is to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in higher education institutes.
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2020
Pathfinder programme started -
8
buildings selected to retrofit to BER B and decarbonise -
6
pathways identified to reach national 2030 targets -
2021
testing of the 6 pathways
Higher education 2020 call
A competition was launched across the sector in 2020 with a target to decarbonise and retrofit buildings to a BER B. 8 projects were selected and work is ongoing in 2021.
Pathways report
A decarbonisation pathways report, commissioned by SEAI, identified 6 pathways to achieving the national 2030 targets for the sector with consideration towards the 2050 net zero ambition. The report was a result of collaborative work between the Department of Education, DFHERIS, HEA, SEAI, and higher education institutes.
Higher education 2021 call
A second competitive call was launched in 2021. This seeks to test the 6 pathways identified through the decarbonisation pathways report. Successful higher education institutes have been selected and concept designs are underway, after which site works will proceed.
Office of Public Works (OPW)
The Office of Public Works and SEAI partnered through the pathfinder programme in 2017. Working with the energy conservation unit within the OPW, SEAI supported shallow retrofit upgrades in 121 buildings across the central government building stock. In 2022, the partnership programme with the OPW will move to deep retrofit and renewable heat.
-
2017
Pathfinder programme started -
1,000
tCO2 savings in 2019 -
68
Retrofit upgrades in 2018
Key achievement timeline
Year | No. of Buildings | Strategy | GWh savings | tCO2 Savings |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 10 | Energy efficiency | 3.7 | 747 |
2018 | 68 | Energy efficiency | 9.9 | 1,818 |
2019 | 31 | Energy efficiency | 5 | 1,000 |
2020 | 13 | Energy efficiency | tbc | tbc |