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BELFAST, Northern Ireland, March 8, 2006
(Refocus Weekly)
Grants of 50% will be paid to private homeowners
who install green heat systems in Northern Ireland.
The government has launched a £59 million ‘Environment &
Renewable Energy Fund’ to increase the number of homes with solar
thermal, geothermal or biomass heating systems by ten fold, to 4,000
homes. Secretary of State Peter Hain says the package will provide
funding over two years in four key areas, including R&D, accelerated
deployment, building market capacity and knowledge.
“Global warming is a reality that threatens all our futures,”he
says. “On top of that, everyone is feeling the impact of rising fuel
prices in a world where the security of our energy supplies is under
increasing threat. It is time for action.”
“This £59 million fund will help Northern Ireland harness the
natural resources all around us to provide heat and power and reduce
our reliance on fossil fuels,” he adds. “It will leverage in the
region of £300 million in additional private sector investment in
our renewables infrastructure.”
Government buildings at Stormont Estate will be powered by a new
biomass plant, while solar systems are integrated into other
government buildings and enhanced energy efficiency measures will be
introduced on public sector buildings, with an emphasis on schools.
There will also be a program of research into the potential for
energy crops, waste and geothermal resources to generate heat and
electricity.
At the personal level, grants of 30% to 50% will be provided for
green heat systems in private homes and solar DHW systems will be
installed in hundreds of Housing Executive homes. An assessment of
the grid infrastructure needs to accommodate renewables beyond 2025
will be undertaken on the entire island.
“People have asked me if what they do individually in our own homes
can make a real difference to the environment,” Hain adds. “The
answer to that is an emphatic yes - we’re all in this together.”
The majority of the funding (£35 million) will accelerated
deployment of renewables by providing grants to 4,000 homes and
installing 600 solar DHW systems. It will also purchase 10 MW of
green power, with the value of Renewable Obligation Certificates
being reinvested in further renewable energy projects.
Research and demonstration will receive £15.2 million to encourage
“a decisive switch to renewable fuel sources by the public sector”
and create a world-class research facility to support investment
decisions in renewables. It will identify improvements to the grid
to maximize green power and create a market for green power and
green heat, supported by flagship projects.
Building market capacity will receive £2.5 million to encourage wood
drying of biomass, a sharing of drilling equipment to facilitate
installation of geothermal heat pumps and reduce capital costs of
installation by 40%, and leveraging private sector investment to
develop an energy services company market by providing long-term
contracts to supply 10 MW of green heat to the public sector, with a
particular emphasis on rural schools. The fourth category will
receive £6.5 million for public outreach activities, information
seminars and training courses, as well as creation and publication
of approved renewable energy equipment and installers listing for
Northern Ireland.
“We are facing two potentially catastrophic scenarios: a threat to
our security of energy supply, and even more dangerous, global
warming which has seen the ten warmest years on record since 1990
and which threatens the future of our planet,” says Hains. “We must
take action now to reduce the amount of energy we use and to reduce
the levels of harmful emissions to help protect the environment.”
The government of Northern Ireland wants to raise the level of
renewables from 3% to 12% by 2012.
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