Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte T.D, today launched Better Energy – The National Upgrade Programme which will streamline the existing residential programmes, support jobs and help consumers lower their energy bills. Welcoming the decision by the Minister for Finance to allocate an additional €30 million towards the new programme, Minister Rabbitte said, “Better Energy is a major step forward in this Government’s retrofitting programme. Given energy price trends and growing concerns over security of supply, the way we use energy is no longer simply a question of environmental responsibility but one of economic necessity. Every euro spent by homeowners and businesses on energy efficiency, not only brings about long term energy savings, but also helps support jobs and indigenous companies.”

The key elements of today’s announcement include:
 An additional €30M in Government funding in 2011
 The extra funding will support an additional 2,000 jobs in 2011
 The streamlining of programmes to make it easier for people to make an informed choice about the most suitable energy saving measure for them
 The involvement of the energy companies as partners in delivering energy savings.
 The start of the process of moving to new financial models such as pay as you save, which will foster sustained jobs and savings in this area.

What is Better Energy?
Put simply, Better Energy is a programme designed to ensure that there are more opportunities for householders and businesses to reduce their energy consumption leading to real and lasting cost savings.
Better Energy builds upon what was good about the existing grant schemes and adds a role for energy suppliers, a transition to an upfront discount rather than a retrospective grant and a national pay-as-you-save scheme.
Better Energy will replace the three existing programme: Home Energy Saving Scheme (HES), Warmer Homes Scheme (WHS) and Greener Homes Scheme (GHS), under one umbrella.

Better Energy

Where we are now?

Most people could improve their comfort and reduce their energy bills by upgrading the energy efficiency of their home. Actions include improving insulation, upgrading the boiler or installing better heating controls

Upgrades make economic sense given that heating bills can often be halved and so over a number of years the savings add up to more than the initial outlay

Government grants cover about one third of the cost of typical upgrade measures, and are proving very popular. More than 1,000 upgrades are being carried out every single week

This activity supports jobs, especially since upgrades tend to be labour intensive. More than 5000 full time jobs were supported in 2010. In the past two years, more than one quarter of a billion euro has been spent in the home energy upgrade sector in Ireland.

What comes next?

The next major evolution will be to find new ways to fund the upgrades so that more people can participate without the need to pay upfront to gain savings down the line. Innovative financing models such as “pay as you save” lend money for upgrades with repayments linked to the savings. The ideal model is when a homeowner pays nothing upfront and repays the cost of an upgrade at a rate the same as the energy bill reduction generated. Work is underway to move to this new system by 2013.

Full details (including terms and conditions) in relation to ESB Electric Ireland’s price offerings are available at www.esbelectricireland.ie
or call 1850 30 50 90.

Launched at an event in Dublin in December, the report, Energy in Ireland 1990-2009 shows that in addition to the decline in economic activity, increased energy efficiency and the consistent growth of renewables on the national grid contributed to a significant decline in energy-related CO₂ emissions in 2009 of 11%.

The report also shows that overall energy use declined by 9% in 2009, with sectors such as industry at 13%, services at 12% and transport at 10% witnessing the greatest fall.

Launching the report, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan T.D. said: “I am encouraged by the findings of the latest Energy in Ireland report, particularly to see renewable energy grow at a time when energy prices are falling for both business and domestic consumers. Contrary to some perceptions, Ireland’s position in terms of energy prices relative to the rest of Europe continues to improve, with prices for many consumers now below the EU average.”

Minister Ryan concluded: “By continuing to reduce wasteful use of energy in our homes and businesses, and by making much fuller use of our natural energy resources, we can dramatically improve our competitiveness, our energy security and reduce our exposure to volatile fuel prices.”

Commenting on the report, SEAI Chief Executive Professor Owen Lewis said: “Energy in Ireland 1990-2009 reflects important trends in our approach to, and management of, energy demand and supply in Ireland.  We are seeing some positive results shine through as renewable energy continues to grow and energy efficiency continues to improve across all sections of society. As energy becomes more central to enterprise and our economy, it is increasingly important for us to keep a close eye on the emerging trends.”

Online Home Energy Self Survey

The smart online Home Energy Self Survey will only take minutes to complete, taking homeowners through a number of simple steps to identify the current condition of their home and guiding them towards the most suitable upgrade works.  This new survey will be offered to all applicants at the start of the online application process and will also available in hard copy on request from the SEAI call centre.

What is the HES scheme?

The Home Energy Saving (HES) scheme provides grants to homeowners who are interested in improving the energy efficiency of their home in order to reduce energy use and costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions. The scheme is open to all owners of existing houses built before 2006. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland administers the scheme.

Assistance will be provided by way of fixed grants towards the costs of implementing upgrade measures. The types of measures currently eligible under this scheme are roof insulation, wall insulation, high efficiency boilers and heating control upgrades.

To complete the online self survey, visit www.seai.ie, or if you would like to speak to one of our technical staff regarding heating control upgrades, please call  1890 626 626

“The economic and social implications of climate change are immense and it is the responsibility of Governments everywhere to change behaviour to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.” Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan.

Government subsidies, such as funding for efficient technologies, biofuels and insulation, were insufficient on their own in addressing climate change, said the ESRI. Regulations, policies and legislation were needed to really change attitudes to climate change, it was added.

To encourage innovation by incentivising companies to bring low carbon products and services to the market, they have introduced a carbon tax equivalent to €15 per tonne. Increases to home heating oils and gas will apply from next May. The purpose of a carbon tax is to protect the environment by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, helping to mitigate climate change, to support business investment in low-carbon growth and to help households reduce energy costs.

Now more than ever there is a drive for sustainability and the exploration of renewable energy systems as an alternative to depleting fossil fuels.

The application of the tax to coal and commercial peat will be subject to a commencement order to allow a robust mechanism to be put in place to counter the sourcing of coal and peat from Northern Ireland where lower environmental standards apply.

The yield from the Carbon Tax will be used to boost energy efficiency, to support rural transport and to alleviate fuel poverty.

There’s been much talk in the past few months about a carbon tax, but what exactly is it and how will it affect us? A carbon tax is an environmental tax on emissions of carbon dioxide which is generally accepted to be the heat-trapping “greenhouse” gas.

The introduction of the carbon tax in December budget was Ireland’s first major taxation step towards changing behaviour to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We have already seen the positive effects of earlier changes to the VRT scheme.

Ireland is not the first country to have implemented such a tax and it is vital that lessons should be learned from other European states that have pioneered this tax as a means of stimulating investment in alternative energy sources, while at the same time promoting changes in consumer and business behaviour.

Finland pioneered the concept of a carbon tax in 1990 and other Scandinavian countries soon followed suit. Both Sweden and Denmark introduced a carbon tax in the early 1990s as part of broader energy tax and subsidy packages. Both countries provide various subsidies or exemptions for energy derived from renewable sources, providing viable alternatives for companies.

The ESRI has estimated that the carbon tax will cost the average household between €2 and €3 a week. This breaks down as almost €2 extra on a 40kg bag of coal, 40 cent more for a bale of briquettes, four cent and five cent per litre increases in petrol and diesel respectively and over €52 extra for 1,000 litres of home heating oil.

The carbon tax is being introduced on a phased basis; transport fuels will be hit immediately, whereas liquid fuels and home heating oil will not be subject to the carbon tax until May 2010.

The application of the tax to coal and commercial peat has been deferred to allow a proper system to be put in place to counteract the potential smuggling of coal and peat from Northern Ireland.

Electricity bills will not be affected because the price of carbon is already factored into the costs of electricity. The ESB and other power generators participate in the EU ETS which is implemented in Ireland by the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of government. A specific exemption from the carbon tax is provided for such participants.

The Commission on Taxation report recommended that the yield from the carbon tax should be revenue-neutral. The minister indicated it would be used to boost energy efficiency, support rural transport, and alleviate fuel poverty. Another €50m of the actual carbon tax yield will be allocated for a new National Retrofit Programme, to improve energy efficiency in homes and providing energy saving assistance to low income households.

Its thought that Carbon taxes will be a feature of economies across the world in the coming years.