better energy communities - marcella maher keogh
TRANSCRIPT
Marcella Maher Keogh PM for DUET & ECT Architectural Technician
Building Energy Assessor
Project Manager
Internship with DUET in 2012
DUET are a group of Volunteers looking to generate activity in their community
Role facilitated by NTLP
DUET A meeting with
Tipperary Energy Agency to discuss options.
It was decided that conservation rather than generation would provide better outcomes to the community. A survey of homes in the community was required to establish Insulation levels, types of fuels being used by house holders, cost of Energy per household in the community.
Survey Results
€1,000,000 per year spent on energy ◦ €1000 per person
◦ €2,500 per household
A 25% reduction in energy usage could save the parish €250,000
60% (200 out of 349) cited financial savings as their most important reason for investing in energy efficiency
BETTER ENERGY COMMUNITIES
SEAI launched a Grant under the Better Energy Communities Pilot scheme -2012
Drombane Upperchurch Energy Team were successful
Energy Team Achievements in 2012 & 2013
A total of 50 houses upgraded and 2 community buildings
Total cost of project €400,000
Grant from SEAI €300,000
Energy Communities Tipperary -2014
Other Communities to replicate Drombane Project
Kilcommon / Rearcross
Lorrha / Rathcabbin
Birdhill
Energy Team Achievements in 2014
A total of 110 houses and 2 community buildings
Total cost of project €1,078,000
Grant from SEAI €840,000
Approx 1.5 GWh/ year saved
Challenges Project Timeline – Often tight
Admin seemed heavy and time consuming
Contractors letting go good tradesmen – work starts in June / July till November
Possibility of rolling grants – 2/3 year program – with yearly targets – or overlap on projects
Challenges Funding / Bridging Finance for Community groups
Banks and Credit unions not interested
Clan Credo – interest @ 6% - max lending is €500,000 to one group
Cost of application to new communities – professional required to do the application for communities
Challenges Non SEAI registered contractors allowed
Contractors have a learning curve to comply with SEAI regulations for the BEC scheme – meet standards
KSN inspectors – varying opinions on the standards – this needs to be the same across the board
Challenges Recruiting houses – 1st year was the hardest – now
there is a waiting list in the parishes
Convincing “Can Pay” homes to invest more money – 30% grant could be increased – bonus money for 3 or more items upgraded
Community Committees – dealing with people from all different backgrounds – decision making slow
Positives Application stage has improved – better cross checks
Milestone payments – keep interest rates down
SEAI Staff very helpful
Local contractors – homeowners happier because they know and trust contractors
160 houses retrofitted over 3 years – a lot of these houses would never have been touched
Positives Excellent program – bringing life back into our
communities
People have more comfort in their homes
Provide local employment
Significant cost saving in the community
Significant reductions in carbon emissions
A win win for the individuals, the community and the country.
First project of its kind in the country.
Government input
More money available to the BEC program – reduced by half this year – with 75 applications received
Energy Credit unit costs could be increased -more finance from Energy Providers
Tax breaks for contractors willing to provide bridging finance to communities to run projects instead of lending from banks / Clan credo.
The Future People are willing to get involved – stimulating work
and energy efficiency savings for the country
Doing it from the bottom up – communities feel ownership of the projects – more involvement.
2015 project included 8 communities
Project is going from strength to strength – and can be replicated throughout the country.