2008-04-24 18:10:25 - Thursday, 24 April 2008 - Minister of State with special responsibility for Energy, Tony Killeen, T.D. has welcomed the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources announcement of a regional pilot scheme aimed at helping home owners across counties Clare and Limerick to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

The aim of the pilot scheme is to inform the roll out from 2009 of the full scale €100million national scheme as set out in the Programme for Government. The pilot will be conducted in certain geographical areas, namely Limerick/Clare, Tipperary and Dundalk.

‘Regardless of what power source used, there is no cheaper option than not wasting energy in the first

place', Minister Killeen said.

The Clare T.D. continued, ‘This scheme will assist homeowners in counties Limerick and Clare, with the exception of Limerick City, in identifying where energy is being wasted and how to avoid it in the future. The degree of savings possible are significant, with the potential for home owners to save up to €500 per year.'

The scheme will have a budget of €5million and will seek to improve the energy efficiency of approximately 2,000 homes in 2008. Building Energy Rating assessors will assess homes before and after work is carried out.

The initial assessment will determine what energy efficiency improvement measures are needed and will ensure that householders have expert advice before making a final choice. The house will be re-assessed to measure the benefits of the work carried out.

Supports will be available under the following categories:
Warm zone - upgrading one or two rooms in a house to improve efficiency and comfort in low occupancy contexts
Whole house - householder undertakes whole house action to meet a specific BER performance improvement target
Cluster - group of houses engage service providers collectively in order to achieve performance upgrades and higher value though economies of scale

Minister Killeen explained, ‘Up to 6,000 tonnes of CO2 will be saved from the pilot scheme alone. Overall the scheme when fully operational could yield carbon dioxide savings of over 175,000 tonnes per year.'

'I commend Sustainable Energy Ireland on the work involved in the introduction of this programme and wish the people of Clare and Limerick every success in their participation. Advertisements will be published shortly in each of the local areas that will host a test project inviting interested householders to apply to SEI to participate in the scheme', he concluded.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editor:
- Tony Killeen T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government and Communication Energy and Natural Resources with special responsibility for Environment and Energy, is available for interview and further comment on 0035387-2525304. Alternatively please contact Mark Dunphy of Dunphy Public Relations on 00353868534900 or media@dunphypr.com
- High-resolution images of Minister Killeen are available on request

Mark Dunphy
Dunphy Public Relations
www.dunphypr.com
00353-868534900 (mobile)
00353-656839692 (fax)