New grant scheme which supports businesses placing energy-efficiency at the core of the design and build of new building projects.
Waterford TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh welcomes a new grant scheme which supports businesses placing energy-efficiency at the core of the design, construction and management stages of new projects.
The €14 million scheme was announced by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh’s Green Party colleague, Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD and it is aimed at businesses who prioritise energy efficiency when designing, building and running their new or existing buildings.
In order to qualify for a grant, participants must follow the SEAI EXEED (Excellence in Energy Efficient Design) standard and embed energy efficiency in the design of their projects, focusing on energy uses such as heating, cooling, refrigeration, compressed air and business processes. The grant is open to public and private organisations that are planning an investment project of any scale or complexity.
Deputy Ó Cathasaigh commented on the announcement:
“This is great news for businesses because it encourages business owners to consider energy efficiency at the earliest stage in their project which in turn will result in the maximum savings and the greatest reduction in carbon. All businesses report very significant reductions in energy costs so availing of this technology and the support available makes good business sense and can have a significant impact on the bottom line.”
“Business owners want to play their part in protecting our environment but they want it to make business sense too. There have been particular successes in the areas of manufacturing, warehousing, leisure and hospitality and businesses using significant refrigeration. These businesses are likely to see a very quick payback.”
“I’d encourage any Waterford business considering a project such as this to get in touch with the SEAI to see if they are eligible for the scheme. Over the last few years, the SEAI have given assistance to 135 projects under the EXCEED scheme alone with average CO2 savings of 46% on new build projects. While adopting energy efficiency makes great business sense for individual businesses, it also has plays a significant role in helping us meet our carbon reduction targets.
Minister Ryan said: “Buildings are a major source of C02 emissions, so to meet our climate goals we need to be innovative in how we design, build and manage them for optimum energy efficiency. The SEAI’s EXEED grant scheme supports designers and builders to be ambitious, and put energy efficiency at the heart of their building and renovation projects. It makes both environmental and economic sense.”
