Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 February 2022
141. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will increase the funding for the sustainable energy communities programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10257/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) Programme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf of my Department. The Programme supports the low carbon energy transition by developing skills and capacity, at a community level, in determining how to use less energy, adopting lower carbon options for transport and heating, shifting energy use to off-peak times or investing in smart technologies.
The SEC process consists of 3 core steps of "Learn" (the SEC Network), "Plan" (the Energy Master Plan Partnership) and "Do". Under this latter stage, the SECs access the various SEAI energy efficiency grants, notably the Community Energy Grant Scheme, to help them progress their identified projects.
The Community Energy Grant Scheme supports cross-sectoral, partnership approaches that deliver energy savings to a range of building types including public, commercial and community buildings with a particular focus on using the projects to deliver home retrofits. Furthermore, the Scheme is designed to engage all members of the SEC network who wish to participate in delivery of energy efficiency works.
In 2020, there were a total of 490 SEC members in the network. This increased to 618 at the end of 2021. In 2020, funding of €1.21million was spent under the SEC Programme and this increased to €1.34million in 2021.
Under the Programme, a total of 181 Energy Master Plans have been submitted to the SEAI, of which 57 were submitted in 2021. There are a total of 62 SECs at the "Do" stage.
The National Retrofit Plan which was launched recently as part of the Climate Action Plan 2021, sets a target of 1,500 member communities in the SEC Network by 2030. Under the Plan, SECs will be supported by Government to continue to expand their roles as ‘activators’ in their communities.
Funding of €8 million has been allocated to support the Sustainable Energy Communities and community activation in 2022.
