P. J. Sheehan
Question:59 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will consider introducing grant aid for domestic buildings towards the installation of solar panels for the conservation of energy. [16356/01]
Written Answers. - Sustainable Energy.
The Government's Green Paper on sustainable energy, published by my Department in 1999, identified housing as an area requiring a major application of innovation to improve its energy performance and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2000, I launched a consultative forum on the "House of Tomorrow" initiative, which will provide a programme of energy related research, demonstration and development support actions for the housing sector to meet Ireland's specific needs and circumstances. This is aimed at establishing least cost solutions applicable both to new build and upgrading of the existing housing stock. The forum drew on a wide range of backgrounds and experience from professional, trade, industrial and specialist practitioners in the housing and energy fields. In particular, it invited views regarding priority topics for attention through practical research, demonstration and development support actions, and solar energy was among the topics considered.
From an environmental emissions perspective, solar heating has obvious attractions. However, from an economic and operational perspective, it is clear that solar technology still needs adaptation and proving under Irish conditions so as to attain wide consumer and building industry acceptance. This will, therefore, be among the topics to be addressed by the House of Tomorrow programme when it is launched later this year.
In this context, at my request, the Irish Energy Centre is investigating the scope for a pilot programme which would subsidise the installation of a limited number of demonstration solar roofs. If successful, this will demonstrate the feasibility of this technology on a scale sufficient to influence uptake by householders and builders alike and could provide an Irish experience base on which to go forward with further initiatives for solar heating.