In a change to how the Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) programme is administered in the Dublin Mid-East Region, the participating local authorities there will now administer the €25,000 grant for the energy master plan. This means that SEC’s will no longer have to pay for the grant upfront. Instead the local authority will pay for the plan and recoup the monies from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. This change in the financial instrument will make it easier to motivate communities to develop a master plan and to target improvements.
The grant covers the cost of an energy consultant to produce an energy master plan in an effort to target, incentivise and motivate communities seeking to reduce their carbon emissions. This master plan is a broad roadmap of the current energy/CO2 status of the community and recommendations on how it can be reduced. For example, the energy master plan may recommend carrying out deep energy efficiency retrofitting, installation of PV panels, etc, all aimed at moving the community towards carbon neutrality.
Successful grant application submitted by local authorities will ensure 100% funding from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
This change to the SEC programme removes the initial financial barriers for communities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as access healthier, greener, and cleaner buildings. In this incentive, SECs no longer have to pay the full invoice up front to energy consultants and receive funds at a later date once all paperwork is approved. Planning for a carbon neutral community has been given more success to move from the costly formative stage to jumpstarting the process to eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.
To find out more please visit:
http://www.codema.ie/media/news/local-authority-support-for-sec-groups/
