€35m scheme to retrofit ten schools across the country
A TOTAL of €35million will be used to retrofit ten primary and secondary schools across the country next year.
The scheme is a bid to make the schools more energy-efficient and cheaper to heat and light, saving the taxpayer from higher energy bills in future.
As well as saving money, the scheme helps Ireland’s overall effort to reduce its carbon footprint.
Now in its sixth year, the Schools Energy Retrofit Pathfinder Programme has retrofitted 41 schools across the State to date, with work on another 15 schools at various stages of progress.
As part of the 2023/24 Pathfinder programme, ten schools were chosen in rural and urban areas to have extensive fabric upgrades to improve the ‘energy performance’ of the building, which makes them cheaper to heat.
The upgrades, at a value of up to €35million, will target energy efficiency improvements and include upgrades to doors and windows, insulation, lighting and heating improvements, as well as renewable technologies such as solar panels which produce electricity or heat pumps for heating and hot water.
Announcing today’s launch, Education Minister Norma Foley said: ‘This programme continues to assist the department to explore options and test various solutions for decarbonised energy efficiency solutions in our broad range of school building types.
‘It is paving the way for, and informing, a much larger schools’ national programme for the energy retrofit of schools built prior to 2008 as included in the National Development Plan and will play a key part of meeting delivery of the Climate Action Plan.’
Design teams are being appointed to each school to investigate retrofit and decarbonisation options, and works are expected to roll out from summer 2023.
Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said the Government has a target of achieving at least 50% energy efficiency and 51% CO2 emissions reductions.
‘I’m delighted with what has already been done in this sector. It is improving the comfort levels and learning environment for our children,’ he said.
‘The Pathfinder Programme is continuously building expertise so we can roll this out on a much larger scale to more schools in the coming years,’ he added.
The programme will see up to ten schools benefiting from a selection of energy efficiency works. However, the schools selected for 2023 present a variety of challenges, ‘including building age, archetype and retrofit requirements’, the Department of Education said.
Schools that are designed and built in accordance with the department’s schools’ technical guidance documents, must achieve at least an A3 Building Energy Rating and have typically up to 20% higher performance than required by the current building regulations, along with 10% of primary energy provided via photovoltaic panels, and future infrastructure provision for charging electric vehicles on site.
The pathfinder programme has retrofitted 41 schools in Ireland, with work on an another 15 schools in progress.
Each school get a comprehensive assessment to ensure the measures are suitable for that school and will deliver value to the school and the national retrofit programme.
The schools for the 2023 programme are: Leixlip Community School, Co. Kildare; Catherine McCauley Special School, Limerick; Carndonagh Community School, Co. Donegal; St Joseph’s National School, Kingscourt, Co. Cavan; Presentation Girls Primary School, Maynooth, Co Kildare; Holy Rosary School, Wicklow ; Hazelwood College, Limerick; St Colmcille’s Community School, Dublin; Scoil Thomas Primary School, Dublin; and Scoil Neasáin primary school, Limerick.
‘It makes them cheaper to heat’ ‘It is improving comfort levels’