Minister Ryan announces funding of €9m to 43 companies under the Energy Efficiency Fund

Media Release

14^th September 2010

~ Government energy efficiency funding will give rise to lifetime savings of €70m ~

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan TD, today announced that funding of €9 million has been granted to 43 organisations involving capital investment projects of approximately €25 million, under the national Energy Efficiency Fund (EEF) for public and private sector businesses.

The projects, 20 of which are public sector, and 23 private and voluntary sectors, will be completed by the end of 2010, and the energy efficiency actions taken will create lifetime savings of over €70 million.  50,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions will also be avoided each year as a result.

The EEF, which is being managed and coordinated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) , provides support for upgrades to buildings, services and facilities involving ambitious packages of energy efficiency investment actions aimed at achieving ongoing and lasting energy savings.  Projects relate mainly to thermal and electrical energy usage in buildings.  The fund, which was launched in May 2010, was oversubscribed with applications by its closing date in August.

Commenting, Minister Eamon Ryan said: “We must tackle the needless waste of energy across all sectors.  In these straightened times, no one can afford to pay for unused energy.  Increased energy efficiency is the one sure way to secure enduring reductions in energy use and energy expenditure.

 “For every euro granted by the Government under this scheme, €10 in savings is delivered. The benefits far outweigh the costs. This is an important Government scheme delivering instant savings for both public and private enterprise. The lifetime savings of such a switch make it more than worth the effort for the businesses involved. This benefits business’ bottom line, protecting jobs and making us more competitive. It is yet another example of the green economy in action, where we create and maintain the jobs of the future while helping to fight climate change. It is the right investment for the smart business.”

Professor Owen Lewis, Chief Executive of SEAI said: “The EEF is a timely example of organisations in Ireland working towards best practice in energy efficiency to deliver real energy reductions in all sectors of our economy.  There are tremendous opportunities for almost every company in Ireland to learn from these organisations and replicate the benefits of energy savings by following in their footsteps.” 

ends

About SEAI:

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has a mission to play a leading role in transforming Ireland into a society based on sustainable energy structures, technologies and practices. The Authority is financed by Ireland’s EU Structural Funds Programme co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Union.

Notes to Editor:

1. Project examples - at a glance

Keelings Softfruits – Site optimisation of energy demand in an industrial scale glasshouse and refrigeration site. The project includes retrofit of CHP, including the use of exhaust warm air to improve overall growing conditions. (€0.5m)

Bus Eireann – Following a limited pilot project a national roll out of advanced driver training towards improved energy efficiency including the installation of advanced in-vehicle monitoring / feedback devices. (€52k)

Tesco - Tesco is to retrofit specific technology projects in its stores in 2010 including: more efficient lighting and fridge/freezer cooling systems. (€0.5m)

Southern  Local Authorities- Combined energy efficiency upgrades in three local authorities (Kerry CoCo, Tralee Town Co & Cork City CoCo) including water services, public lighting and building efficiencies. (€0.5m)

Trinity College Dublin (TCD) – Multi-building retrofits and upgrades across 11 buildings on the TCD campus - lighting controls, lighting, insulation and building management systems upgrades. (€131k)

Roadstone - Sustainable Energy Transport project involving the installation of monitoring and tracking of fuel efficiency software for a pilot of 10 commercial vehicles  with the potential to roll out to the remainder of the 700 fleet.  (€3k)

Custom House - Upgrade to Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government Building including solar hot water installation. (€290k)

2.Briefing on EEF Scheme, 14 September 2010

Summary:  The Energy Efficiency Fund (EEF) was aimed at stimulating energy efficiency retrofit projects from the public sector and enterprise sector, particularly projects exhibiting some of the following:  scale, depth/ multiple technologies, technical novelty, clustered/ multisite applications, and new financial/ procurement/ contractual delivery mechanisms.  Replicability was a consideration in all cases.

Key objectives were to:

• Achieve significant, measurable and verifiable energy efficiency impacts in pursuance of national energy efficiency targets.
• Develop and showcase innovative delivery models, including the associated contractual and procurement mechanisms based on the principles of energy performance contracting, which in turn will inform other longer term initiatives for activating retrofit investment
• Support the pursuit of deeper, and more technically/ economically challenging, energy efficiency measures
• Build and develop the supply chain capability, particularly relating to procurement and contracting arrangements between supply chain partners
• Identify, quantify and prove potential energy saving opportunities and delivery models through exemplar case studies, thereby facilitating widespread replication.

Support was available for upgrades to buildings, services and facilities involving ambitious packages of energy efficiency investment actions aimed at achieving ongoing and lasting energy savings. Approved projects relate mainly to thermal and electrical energy use in buildings, but also included projects relating to facilities, processes or transport. 

In general, at least two of the following were required:

• Incorporate innovative delivery facilitation models, especially those drawing on the principles of energy performance contracting.
• Incorporate an innovative energy saving technology or application.
• Incorporate a range of energy efficiency actions of varying complexity and investment attractiveness.
• Involve multiple project/ technology elements across single or multiple sites (or organisations) that are coordinated through a central body or organisation. 
• Include retrofitting of one or more energy services within a cohort of buildings or facilities to best in class performance.
• Contribute to the knowledge base of the supply chain – particularly with respect to improving its capacity to contract for energy efficiency projects and energy services.

Please click here to download a summary sheet of the projects supported in PDF format.