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Energy Conservation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 May 2013

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

Questions (399, 409)

Nicky McFadden

Question:

399. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the way the national energy efficiency action plan can contribute to reducing energy bills for consumers, businesses and the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22261/13]

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Seán Kyne

Question:

409. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide an update on the progress achieved to date for energy efficiency improvements across the public sector as committed to in the national energy efficiency action plan. [22910/13]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 399 and 409 together.

The Deputy will be aware I published the second National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) on 28 February last, which reaffirms Ireland’s commitment to a 20% energy savings target in 2020 in pursuit of our EU obligations. This is equivalent to 31,925 Gigawatt hours (GWh) or a reduction in annual CO2 emissions of around 7.7 Mega tonnes (Mt). Recognising that Government must lead by example, we are committed to achieving a 33% reduction in public sector energy use by 2020.

The second Action Plan follows a similar approach to its predecessor, identifying realisable but ambitious actions across six areas: Public Sector, Residential, Business, Transport, Energy Supply, and Cross-Sectoral. The Plan contains 97 actions, each of which will play a part in securing a more sustainable energy future for Ireland. Of the 97 actions, the following five will play an integral role in the delivery of the national target:

1. In the Public sector, we will introduce a series of obligations on public sector bodies to address consumption, procurement and reporting of energy use.

As part of our Action Plan for Jobs commitments, we will issue in June this year a mandate to public sector organisations with an annual energy spend of €500,000 or more, to go to the market to identify solutions for the delivery of energy reduction services. In 2010-2011 the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and my Department developed and launched a comprehensive monitoring and reporting system to record each individual public body’s progress towards the 33% target. A database of over 30,000 meters has been established to enable the accurate gathering of public sector data. This database is being developed with linkages to the National Procurement service and will lead to better procurement of energy supplies for the public sector. A report on public sector consumption will be published later this year.

2. We will institute a national Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) process to deliver innovative models of retrofitting and financing of energy efficiency measures in the commercial and public sectors.

Work on the National Energy Performance Contracting Policy Framework, which will standardise energy performance contracting in Ireland and provide a robust process for establishing investment-ready projects, is well advanced and the first version of the Framework will be published shortly. The Framework will be underpinned by an Energy Efficiency Fund, to which Government has already committed €35 million in the 2013 Budget as seed capital.

3. We will introduce an appropriate Pay-As-You-Save (PAYS) model for Ireland to replace existing exchequer supports for domestic and non-domestic energy efficiency upgrade measures.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to roll out a Better Energy Financing (formerly known as Pay-As-You-Save) energy retrofit scheme for domestic buildings after 2013. The Better Energy Financing (BEF) model proposes that the current suite of Exchequer funded grants for energy efficiency measures, excluding the low-income housing retrofit programme, will be replaced by a new financing scheme open to the residential and non-residential sectors. This scheme will allow consumers to secure upfront financing for energy efficiency upgrades, the repayment of which will be funded from savings on their energy bill generated from the retrofit.

My Department has put in place a project team to design a replacement retrofit financing scheme under the direction of a Project Board representing key state and industry stakeholders. Project resources have been drawn from industry experts and elsewhere in the public sector. It is planned that the design of the scheme will be developed over the coming months and that a public consultation process will be undertaken later this year.

4. The Better Energy programme will deliver energy efficiency improvements across a number of sectors including energy saving targets for energy suppliers.

The NEEAP emphasises the role of market actors in facilitating the delivery of energy savings, with the introduction of energy saving targets for energy suppliers a key measure underpinning the delivery of the 2020 energy saving target. A move to a market-based programme is a logical step in mainstreaming energy efficiency within the energy supply sector in line with EU ambitions.

To date 18 energy supply companies have signed voluntary energy savings agreements, with a programmatic target of 875GWh for the period 2011-2013. I am currently considering proposals for the period beyond 2013.

5. A Cross-Departmental Implementation Group will soon be established to ensure that all the actions contained in this Plan are delivered.

The Implementation Group, chaired by my Department, has been established and is meeting quarterly to ensure delivery of the actions contained in the NEEAP. It comprises representatives from a number of key stakeholders who are responsible for leading or supporting the progression of key sectoral actions in pursuit of our NEEAP goals. The Implementation Group will report to Government regularly on progress.

Should all measures detailed in the plan reach their full potential by 2020 it is estimated that a potential reduction in energy spend across all sectors of approximately €2.36 billion (at 2011 prices) will be realised. A very significant element of this will be Exchequer savings in the public sector.

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