Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has a strong record with respect to sustainable energy in school buildings and this performance has been recognised at both national and international level with sustainable energy awards for excellence in design and specification.

My Department’s approach to the decarbonisation of the school sector is predicated on establishing a credible phased pathway to zero emissions, and meeting 2030 public sector targets through an evidence based approach, informed by the Department’s Energy Research Programme which has been in place from 1997 with over 54 different research strands.

There has been a strong early focus on energy efficiency in the school sector. In 2009 my Department provided 100% funding for a school sector insulation scheme and in 2010 a water conservation programme.

Since 2009, schools designed and built in accordance with the Department’s schools technical guidance documents have achieved A3 Building Energy Ratings.

Current schools typically achieve up to 20% higher energy performance and 25% better carbon performance than required by Building Regulations.

In addition, 10% of primary energy in these schools is provided via solar photovoltaic panels. Electric vehicle charging infrastructure is also provided.

My Department and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications have developed a jointly funded school sector decarbonisation pathfinder programme. It is administered by the Planning and Building Unit in my Department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in partnership with devolved delivery support from Limerick Clare Education and Training Board and Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board.

This pathfinder is a great example of collaboration, ensuring the deployment of new design approaches and technologies are introduced to the school sector on an evidence based approach. This programme continues to assist my Department to explore options and test various solutions for decarbonised energy efficiency solutions in our broad range of school building types.

Each school undergoes a comprehensive assessment to ensure that the retrofit measures are suitable for that school, will deliver value to both the school and learnings for the national retrofit programme, and will not create an undue burden to the school in relation to upkeep of infrastructure related to the retrofit projects.

The works typically involves upgrades to the building fabric including wall and roof insulation, doors and windows, air tightness improvements, LED lighting and heating upgrades as well as renewable technologies.  A Building Energy Rating (BER) of B is the targeted energy rating for these schools.

This pathfinder programme has completed work to date in 53 schools across Ireland. Work is progressing in an additional 11 schools.

The budget for the pathfinder programme of works from 2017 to 2023 is circa €110 million. The 2023/24 Pathfinder has a targeted budget of €50 million.

The details supplied with this question have been confirmed to the Department as preliminary information presented to the school at a recent meeting. This has been clarified during follow up engagement with the school. A more refined detailed analysis is to be shared at a prearranged meeting with the School Board of Management this week. This data will indicate to the school that the developed design and project delivery will have a positive effect on the existing running costs of the school.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department has a strong record with respect to sustainable energy in school buildings and this performance has been recognised at both national and international level with sustainable energy awards for excellence in Design and Specification.

My Department’s approach to the decarbonisation of the school sector is predicated on establishing a credible phased pathway to zero emissions, and meeting 2030 public sector targets through an evidence based approach, informed by the Department’s Energy Research Programme which has been in place from 1997 with fifty four different research strands.

Schools designed and built in accordance with the Department’s schools technical guidance documents, have been achieving A3 Building Energy Ratings since 2009, with current schools typically achieving up to 20% higher energy performance and 25% better carbon performance than required by the current Building Regulations. In addition, 10% of energy is provided via photovoltaics (PV) and infrastructure is provided for electric vehicle charging.

As part of our overall approach to sustainability in the school estate, it is intended that 6 kilowatt solar PV panels will be provided to schools, funded from the Climate Action Fund, which is under the remit of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.

This is really positive news for our schools and will assist with their energy needs and costs along with supporting the decarbonisation of our school buildings.

The programme will fund up to 6kW of roof-mounted solar PV, which equates to approximately 16 solar panels. Connection to the grid will be included, to allow unused solar energy to feed to the grid when schools are closed. This will enable schools to approach their suppliers for compensation for exports to the grid.

Monitoring software will also be provided to each school, to allow review and discussion of the energy generated each day for staff and students.

The parameters of the Schools PV Scheme have been agreed with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and further detail will be announced shortly.  However, I can confirm that battery storage is not included in the scope of the School PV Programme. 

Battery storage is a more complex way of storing any potential exported electric energy. A battery on the system means the battery will charge when the PV system is generating electricity which isn’t being used or exported, and then discharge when needed, normally that evening/night.

While abattery can increase the percentage of solar PV electricity used in a domestic situation, it is not viewed as suitable for schools at this time due to school operating hours.  Instead, the focus is on ensuring that schools’ PV systems can export to the grid and that schools can be compensated for same by their electricity supplier.