Eco Evolution Blog

The Better Energy Homes scheme temporarily closed for new applications following Budget 2012 and a subsequent announcement by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources reopened for new homeowner applications on December 8th 2011.

A number of scheme revisions have been agreed and the two key changes to the scheme are:

• Revised grant amounts for all wall insulation types and Building Energy Rating (BER)
• Internal and external wall insulation grants will no longer be one single amount, but rather be based upon the house type.

Grants for attic insulation and all heating system upgrades including solar remain unchanged.

A summary of the new grant levels, and how they relate to house type, is shown below:

A Building Energy Rating (BER) is an integral part of all grant applications under the Better Energy Homes scheme, whereby homeowners must undertake a BER on their home after grant aided works have been completed. A homeowner is entitled to BER funding of €50 once per home. This funding will be applied to your grant application automatically provided you have never applied previously for BER funding. You will be informed during the online grant application process if BER funding is available for your home or as part of your Letter of Grant Offer if you have applied through the post. It is advisable that you apply for and undertake all planned grant aided works at the same time to minimise the costs of multiple BER assessments.

Please note the minimum grant amount for the first application must be €400. A BER grant, where applicable, does not count towards the €400 minimum.

Further information on the Better Energy Home Scheme Grants can be found at www.seai.ie

Three Local Irish Authorities to take lead in testing new technologies and policies to stimulate national move towards sustainable energy practice.

Professor J Owen Lewis, chief executive, SEAI; Dick Gleeson, planner, Dublin City Council; Tim McSwiney, senior executive engineer, Tralee Town Council; and Gerry Wardell, director CODEMA, Dublin City Council

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) today announced Tralee, Dublin City and Tallaght as the three new exemplar Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC), all of whom will commit to specific energy saving projects for the next five years. The communities were selected from 14 local authorities for having a visionary co-ordinated approach to energy savings and integrating sustainable energy into community planning and development. The selection of the three SECs follows a competitive selection process and builds on the success of Ireland’s pilot SEC, Dundalk 2020.

SEAI’s Sustainable Energy Communities Programme aims to develop a series of Irish communities as ‘living laboratories’ to establish a culture of innovation and facilitate the emergence of new sustainable energy technologies and practices that grow energy smart towns and cities. SECs involve everyone in the community, across all sectors, working together to enhance sustainability by being as energy efficient as possible, using renewable energy where feasible and developing indigenous energy supplies. The programme acts as a catalyst on the ground to help stimulate a national move towards sustainable energy practice and to deliver national energy targets.

Dundalk 2020 was established as Ireland’s first SEC in 2007. Work to date has involved the installation of energy efficient technologies in a wide range of buildings as well as implementing energy efficient behavioural change. The project has led to savings of more than 5,000 tonnes of CO₂ per annum, while organisations together are saving in excess of €500,000 per annum.

Speaking at the announcement of the winning SECs, Professor J. Owen Lewis, Chief Executive of SEAI said: “The standard of the proposals we received was excellent. Tralee, Dublin City and Tallaght will, with the support of SEAI, champion the testing and deployment of new sustainable energy technologies and practices in their communities, involving people across all sectors. The aim of the Sustainable Energy Communities Programme is to replicate best practice throughout the country and we will be helping other local authorities to improve the link between sustainable energy, economic development and planning, making significant energy savings in the process.”

SEAI will partner with the communities for five years, providing them with strategic guidance, as well as technical and project management support. As part of the programme, SEAI also set up an SEC Network to facilitate best practice and knowledge sharing among all local authorities that are progressing in sustainability.

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Source: Media Release ~ Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

~Online Home Energy Self Survey and Building Energy Rating Integrated into Grant Scheme~

On June 8^th, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) will introduce two new features to the Home Energy Saving (HES) scheme, designed to further empower consumers, first by guiding them on suitable upgrade works and secondly informing them of the impact of works undertaken.

The Home Energy Saving scheme, administered by SEAI provides grants to homeowners for insulation and heating system upgrades and continues to prove very popular with over 58,000 homeowner applications approved since the scheme was launched in March 2009.

Sample of BER Cert ~ Photo Credit SEAI

Online Home Energy Self Survey

The smart online Home Energy Self Survey will only take minutes to complete, taking homeowners through a number of simple steps to identify the current condition of their home and guiding them towards the most suitable upgrade works.  This new survey will be offered to all applicants at the start of the online application process and will also available in hard copy on request from the SEAI call centre.  The survey complements the existing fast track online application system and links directly to SEAI’s other resources including the Buyers’ Guides.

Integral BER Requirement

At the same time a Building Energy Rating (BER) is to become an integral part of all grant applications under the HES scheme, whereby homeowners must undertake a BER to measure the impact of works undertaken.  This will give homeowners a thorough and objective assessment of the energy performance of their home following upgrade works, including a BER certificate with a A-G performance rating.  The first such BER assessment will attract grant aid of €100.

At the time of completing the BER, the assessor will also provide an estimate of the energy performance of the home before upgrade works, based upon the pre-works condition of the house.  This will inform the homeowner of the effectiveness of the upgrade works in terms of energy and CO2 emissions improvements.

Householders making applications  on or after Tuesday 8^th June will be required to use the new application system or  the new application forms.

– Government announces €5,000 incentive for electric vehicles

– ESB to roll out 3,500 charge points and 30 fast charge points

– Renault-Nissan Alliance to provide Ireland with supply of electric cars

Electric Cars # Photo Credit – ESB

DUBLIN (April 12, 2010), The Irish Government, the ESB and the Renault-Nissan Alliance today announced a comprehensive partnership to position Ireland as a European leader in electric transport.

Today’s Definitive Agreement includes the development of a nationwide electric car charging infrastructure by ESB, the supply of electric cars by the Renault-Nissan Alliance from 2011, as well as Government policies and incentives that will support the widespread adoption of such vehicles.

Those who purchase electric cars can avail of the €5,000 grant, which the Irish Government announced today. Irish buyers of electric vehicles will be exempt from Vehicle Registration Tax.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan described today’s announcement as on-the-ground delivery of Government policy. “The Programme for Government announced our intention to transform the Irish energy and transport sectors. We have made great strides in renewable energy, energy efficiency and now we begin the electrification of our transport fleet.

The Irish Government’s target is for 10% of Ireland’s vehicles to be electric by 2020. Today’s Agreement with Nissan-Renault will see 2,000 cars on Irish roads by 2011. This keeps us firmly on track to achieve, if not exceed, our goals.

Those purchasing an electric vehicle will be grant aided by the Government to the tune of €5,000 and exempt from VRT. The ESB will provide the charging infrastructure in the homes of the new owners of electric cars.

Irish motorists can look forward to the cash, cars and charging points that will make the electric car the smart choice for the Irish motorist.”

Under the agreement, ESB will roll out 3,500 charge points nationwide by December 2011. The rollout has already begun in Dublin and charging points will also be installed in Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick. ESB also plans to install 30 fast charge points across Ireland by the end of 2011, with nine expected to be set up by the end of this year.

ESB Chief Executive Padraig McManus described today’s announcement “as another important milestone on the road to develop an emissions-free transport system.”

“ESB is currently rolling out a nationwide infrastructure to support the widespread use of electric cars. Ireland will be one of the first countries in the world to have a nationwide electric charging network which will offer opportunities for enterprise and job creation, as well as the obvious environmental benefits of ultimately having a decarbonised transport fleet” he said.

Nissan will supply its all-electric, five-seater LEAF hatchback to Ireland in early 2011 while Renault will launch its light commercial electric vehicle, Kangoo Z.E., later in the year. By the end of 2011, Renault will also supply 100 pre-production Fluence Z.E.s for a pilot project in Ireland. Fluence Z.E., an electric sedan for both private and professional use, will go on sale in Ireland in 2012.

All three vehicles will be fitted with the latest generation of lithium-ion batteries produced by Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC), a joint venture between Nissan, NEC and NEC Tonkin.

Philippe Klein, executive vice president of planning and control at Renault SAS, said: “The Renault-Nissan Alliance’s commitment to the global mass marketing of electric vehicles requires the close cooperation of many partners around the world. . Thanks to Ireland’s determination to be a leader in electric mobility transport, the necessary conditions – including incentives and infrastructure – are being put in place in this country to allow for the successful adoption of electric vehicles in the near future.”

Pierre Loing, vice president of product strategy and planning of Nissan International SA and head of the company’s zero emission business unit in Europe, said: “Renault and Nissan look forward to providing Irish customers with affordable, all-electric vehicles that are built to the same high standards in terms of performance, roominess, comfort and quality that customers expect from both brands.”

ESB is designing an infrastructure that will ensure open access to all car manufacturers and all energy suppliers. Trials and pilots will be conducted by ESB to test the infrastructure and collect the data necessary to examine driving trends, usage patterns as well as the new electric car lifestyle experience.

Today’s Definitive Agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the three parties last April to study the promotion of electric vehicles in Ireland.

“Nissan Ireland is delighted to be part of such an historic occasion for the motor industry in Ireland and Europe. We look forward to delivering a new and emission-free driving experience to Irish customers with Nissan’s electric vehicles starting with LEAF in early 2011,” said Gerard O’Toole, chairman of Nissan Ireland.

Eric Basset, managing director of Renault Ireland, said: “Due to its relatively small size, Ireland is ideally suited for the introduction of electric vehicles and as a pilot for the rest of Europe, As the population of Ireland is predominantly centered around the major urban areas of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, and with the average vehicle covering approximately 75 km per day, electric vehicles are ideally suited to address the every day needs of both private and business use.”

Renault and Nissan are among the leaders in development of pure electric vehicles and together have announced global production capacity of 500,000 units per year. To date, the Alliance has entered into more than 50 partnerships worldwide with countries, cities, organisations and other key stakeholders to prepare the markets and infrastructure for the successful adoption of electric vehicles around the world.

Source: http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/Press+Releases/ELECTRIC+CARS+A+REALITY+FOR+IRELAND.htm