Written answers

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Energy Conservation

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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189. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of plans to roll-out the SEAI LEAF programme for sustainable energy communities. [5943/22]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The 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. In 2021, SEAI and nine local authorities co-funded €700,000 in support to 44 communities to undertake energy master plans. These plans allow a community to assess and understand it’s current and future energy needs (in electricity, heat and transport) in order for the community to make informed decisions and prioritise actions. It helps communities to identify opportunities so they can become more energy efficient, use renewable energy where possible, and use smart energy technology if appropriate.  

SECs will continue to be supported by Government to expand their roles as ‘activators’ in their community. There are currently over 600 SECs in the SEC Network with a target to grow this number to 1,500 by 2030.

Based on feedback from the network of SECs, and in order to facilitate more local sustainable energy activation, my Department and the SEAI are also working to finalise a Local Energy Activation Fund in the first half of 2022. 

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