ENERGY EFFICIENCY PILOT PROGRAMME

Good news for four Galway schools who have been chosen to take part in a €7 million energy efficiency programme.
The schools – Laurencetown NS, Dunmore Community School, Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew and Colaiste Mhuire, Ballygar – will be part of a Government-funded pilot programme for 2019.
The programme focusses on reducing energy consumption, implementing retrofits, building capacity and testing delivery and procurement models.
The aim is for each school to cut its energy use by 33%.
They will all be assigned a design team that will prescribe upgrades for doors and windows, lighting and heating systems, insulation and the use of renewable technologies.
Reducing energy use helps lessen our carbon footprint. It also means that we can use the money saved to spend on teaching.
We need to take action on climate change and it is absolutely right that the public service should show leadership in this way.
The Energy Efficiency Upgrade Pilot Programme is now in its third year and is taking place in advance of a major retrofit of schools beginning in 2022.
It is expected the number of schools involved in pilot programmes will increase annually in the lead up to the larger-scale project.
The programme is jointly funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment and the Department of Education and Skills and is supported by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
The SEAI supports schools with energy efficiency learning through student workshops and resources, with more than 50,000 students taking part each year.
It has also provided energy management expertise to more than 700 schools to date and provided a system of reporting and monitoring energy data for more than 2,000 schools last year.