Plan Stage: Complete your Energy Master Plan
At the plan stage, your community builds a clear picture of local energy use and supply, and maps out how you’ll work together to achieve your energy goals.
The Energy Master Plan
Apply for 100% SEAI funding to develop your own Community Energy Master Plan. Each community designs a plan that reflects its own goals, capacity and priorities, so no two plans are the same. Some plans will be more detailed than others, depending on what works best for your community. Communities are encouraged to focus on energy efficiency first, as these actions are typically low risk and deliver high returns.
Your Energy Master Plan will:
- Establish a baseline of your community’s current energy use across electricity, heat and transport
- Identify any existing renewable energy sources in your area
- Create a Register of Opportunities outlining potential energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
- Select suitable projects for the first three years and set energy reduction targets
- Enable regular updates to track progress against your targets
- Act as a living document, recording your community’s energy journey and supporting future funding applications and projects
Energy Master Plan Examples
A strong EMP provides a clear roadmap for your community and is a valuable step in moving from planning to action. It establishes an energy baseline and identifies a tailored register of opportunities specific to your community.
Urban Example: Phibsboro Village SEC
Rural Town Example: Birr SEC
Coastal Example: Baltimore SEC
Energy Master Plan Funding
The grant programme is open all year round, and you can apply for funding by completing a funding application form. Once approved, the grant offer is valid for 12 months, giving you time to identify community priorities, appoint an external expert, and develop your Energy Master Plan in consultation with your community.
For more information on what’s involved and how to apply, please view the Energy Master Plan Guides. Your mentor can also support you throughout the process and guide you step by step through the application.
SEAI provides 100% grant funding to cover the cost of an external expert to support your community in developing an Energy Master Plan. The level of funding available varies depending on the size and scale of your Sustainable Energy Community, which is linked to the estimated energy spend within your community.
The table below gives an indication of the funding scale you may be eligible to apply for.
| Grant Level | Scale | Community Energy Spend | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Street / small village/ multi-unit development(s) | up to €500K | €10,000 |
| Level 2 | Village / small town / island | up to €2M | €15,000 |
| Level 3 | Town / urban area | up to €20M | €20,000 |
| Level 4 | Large town / city / region | over €20M | €25,000 |
The Role of the Consultant
If your Energy Master Plan funding application is successful, you’ll receive a Letter of Offer from SEAI. Your mentor can then support you in appointing an external Energy Master Plan consultant.
You should invite a number of consultants to quote for the work and then select the most appropriate service provider that meets your requirements.
Once the consultant is in place, it’s important to meet early and involve your community as much as possible, the more engagement, the stronger the plan. The Energy Master Plan is developed in two main stages: gathering data and creating a register of opportunities.
Part 1 - Data collection
The collection of local energy data helps build a clear picture of how energy is used across your community and informs the development of your Energy Master Plan. Energy data collection may include:
- Desk‑based research into local energy use, such as fuel types, energy systems and overall energy spend
- Energy audits of key buildings within the community
- Establishing a Building Energy Rating (BER) baseline for homes, using BER Map Data
- An initial survey of local energy users, which can help identify the most suitable buildings or areas for more detailed audits
Early engagement with your community during this stage can help ensure the data collected is relevant, accurate and representative.
Part 2 - Register of opportunities
This tool allows you to record and organise energy‑saving opportunities in your community, based on the data you’ve collected. By applying average unit costs for different fuel types, it helps estimate the potential cost savings and emissions reductions linked to each unit of energy saved.
The tool also ranks each project idea or energy‑saving opportunity, highlighting the measures likely to deliver the greatest impact. This makes it easier to prioritise actions and shape your work plan going forward.
The Energy Master Plan dashboard
This SEAI dashboard puts key residential energy data at your fingertips, making it easier for SECs to plan and shape their Energy Master Plans. It brings together local maps, charts and tables showing BER and SEAI grant data, all presented in a clear and visual way for your community.
View the dashboard (opens in a new tab)