In order to implement the European Union climate plan’s objectives within its territory Ireland wished to set up a program to reduce the energy consumption in the public sector through measures supporting a responsible energy use. The aim is to provide innovative solutions for the implementation of projects that meet European objectives. The Program is included in Ireland’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan; it is managed in partnership with the energy agencies and the SEAI (Ireland’s Sustainable Development and Energy Authority), which manages energy financing programs in Ireland. The program is built on four pillars: partnership, networking, project support and a bespoke online reporting system. This program promotes energy management and best practices to over 325 public bodies and 3,700 schools in Ireland. It has been instrumental in helping public bodies work towards the Irish government’s ambitious 33 % energy efficiency target for the public sector for 2020. The programme was shortlisted in 2016 at the EU Sustainable Energy Awards, one of only nine shortlisted from over 200 nominations Europe-wide. Through the programme, Ireland’s public sector made €121 million savings and avoided 418,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2014.
NEEDS ADDRESSED:
• no EE policy public sector strategic goals with defined targets at national level
(Art. 3)
• the government hasn't any programme in place to carry out energy efficient renovations on at least 3% of the buildings they own and occupy by floor area
(Art. 5)
• there isn't any programme for conducting energy audits in the public sector at national, regional or local level (Art. 8)
• energy audits doesn't include both technical and financial feasibility assessments (Art. 8)
• there isn't any quality assurance scheme in place for energy audits (Art. 8)
• the recommended actions from the energy audits completed are not implemented (Art. 8)
• business cases for the recommended energy actions arising from energy audits aren't prepared and presented for financial approval (Art. 8)
• financing facilities aren't established for energy efficiency improvement measures (Art. 20)
• Insufficient information on legal and administrative aspects (Art. 17)
• absence of guidelines & handbooks supporting EE measures development (Art. 17)
• inadequate information on best energy efficiency practices (Art. 17)
• absence of support organizations in your territory addressing energy efficiency matters (Art. 17)
• lack of clear and easily accessible information on available energy service contracts and clauses (Art. 18)
• lack of clear and easily accessible information on financial instruments, incentives, grants and loans (Art. 18)
• there aren't any support available to the public sector in taking up energy service offers, in particular for building refurbishment (Art. 18)
• no access to model contracts for energy performance contracting (Art. 18)
• lack of information on best practices for energy performance contracting, including, if available, cost-benefit analysis using a life-cycle approach (Art. 18)
• no qualitative review in the framework of the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan regarding the current and future development of the energy services market has been completed (Art. 18)
• no measures in place to remove the regulatory and non-regulatory barriers that impede the uptake of energy performance contracting (Art. 18)
• the public sector doesn't use energy service companies, and energy performance contracting (Art. 18)
• insufficient in-house expertise about legal and administrative aspects (Art. 17)
• insufficient own funds requirements (Art. 17)
• lack of knowledge regarding existing financial tools (Art. 17)
