Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 May 2013
443. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in the context of Delivering Our Green Potential, published in 2012, the progress that has been made towards the commitment to achieve a 33% reduction in public sector energy use by 2020; if he will outline the steps being taken to achieve the required 3-4% reduction this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25323/13]
View answerDelivering our Green Potential, the Government’s Policy Statement on Growth and Employment in the Green Economy outlines the Government’s ambition for growth and job-creation in the various sectors which make up the Green Economy. The Cabinet Committee on Climate Change and the Green Economy, chaired by An Taoiseach, oversees delivery of the various actions contained in the policy statement. In relation to Energy Efficiency a number of actions enhancing the public, private and household sectors are identified in the report for implementation by my Department and include the following:
Publish a second National Energy Efficiency Action Plan
I published the second National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) in February 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 Plan contains 97 actions, each of which will play a part in securing a more sustainable energy future for Ireland and will play an integral role in the delivery of the national target.
Introduce an Energy Framework for the Public Service which will further improve the level of energy consumption by the sector.
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. This report will set out progress towards achieving the 33% public sector reduction target. Work on the National Energy Services 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 draft 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.
Continue to support energy efficiency improvements in homes through the Better Energy scheme up to the end of 2013.
The SEAI administers the Better Energy Programme that consistently delivers energy efficiency improvements across a number of sectors including energy saving targets for energy suppliers. Since the start of the programme over €250 million in Exchequer funding has been disbursed. The Government has committed to spending €44.519 million on the Better Energy Homes Programme during 2013 allowing substantial economic activity supporting jobs and generating anticipated energy savings of 418GWh (99.6 kt CO2) at a time of severe budgetary constraint.
Introduce a Pay As You Save (PAYS) scheme to replace the Better Energy Homes scheme from 2014, and a strand of the PAYS scheme to improve energy efficiency in the public and commercial sectors in 2013.
The NEEAP and the Programme for Government include 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 households and commercial operators. 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 continue to be developed over the coming months and that a public consultation process will be undertaken in quarter three of this year.
Continue to provide supports to business to improve their energy and resource efficiency and manage their costs through the SEAI, EPA and Enterprise Ireland.
The Large Industry Energy Network (LIEN) and the Energy Agreements Programme is a well-established networking and information programme for large industrial energy users. Now in operation for over 16 years, it engages 160 of the largest energy users in ongoing relationships, including site visits, workshops and annual performance reporting. Energy spend across the LIEN is approximately €800 million and accounts for approximately 60% of all industrial energy usage.
The Energy Agreements Programme supports large industry to implement an energy-management system through the EN 16001 standard. Consistent annual saving across the Network averages between 2% and 3% accounting for annual energy saving of €16 million and above.
Competitiveness is high on the Government’s and the business community’s agendas and SEAI’s focus continues to be on promoting energy efficiency and associated cost reduction programmes throughout small and large business sectors. Over 200 SMEs participated in a wide range of activities including energy assessments, small business training, EnergyMap training and a number of networking events. 140 registrations to the Advice Mentoring and Assessments (AMA) programme in 2012 were recorded and the projected savings were 42 GWh. Annual savings of over 10% are being generated by the participating businesses year on year.
