Energy Update

James Gleeson
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Steve King, one of our energy associates provided us with this update:

“Hi Tony,

I just wanted to provide some news on energy initiatives, grants and incentives that are available to business for green projects, funding for these can be limited and they are often oversubscribed. There are links at the bottom of the page to Enterprise Ireland and Seai grants, look to see if you can claim any and contact me with any questions or further information.

Recent News

There was an announcement in the recent budget, that a one-off payment of €4,000 would be available to business that had previously registered for the ICOB (Increased cost of business) payments, the full detail is yet to be released, but if you qualified under the ICOB, then keep an eye on this page and bookmark.

Pro-business budget to protect our economic wellbeing – DETE (enterprise.gov.ie)

CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) came into effect on the 6^th of July this year, you may not be immediately affected, but you may be required to start reporting if you are in a larger companies supply chain, I have attached information to help understand the requirements, you can also visit the government website.

gov.ie – European Union (Corporate Sustainability Reporting) Regulations 2024 come into effect on 6 July 2024 (www.gov.ie)

The recent budget also announced the reintroduction of the PSO levy, this was zero in 23/24, but the charges will come into effect from Oct bills onwards, they are based on your KVA usage, but they are likely to add 1-2c per kwh on your bill, so this is an incentive to look at some of the energy reduction incentive opportunities below. More info on the PSO levy can be found here

CRU Publishes PSO Levy Calculations for 2024/25 | CRU.ie

Many customers have already availed of this, but if you haven’t, the SEAI (sustainable energy authority Ireland) are still offering €2,000 vouchers to complete energy audits, they are available for any business that spends €10,000 or more per year on energy, I have an SEAI registered auditor, willing to complete most businesses for this cost. The report they provide will assess your current energy status and provide a recommendation report. Call or email me for the details.

Following the report, I can assess what grants are available for any recommended projects, for example solar projects qualify for up to 25% grants and ROI on these can be as low as 2/3 years.

All the Irish banks are still offering low-rate green funding finance from a new European fund, details from BOI are in this link, however all major Irish banks are participating. Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme (GSLS) | Bank of Ireland

The full value of any investment in green projects completed on finance or leasing can be claimed against your capital tax allowance in year 1.

Most suppliers now have green electricity certification available if you want to promote that your business is using this, just contact me and I will arrange the certification

Please find links to the sustainability grants that are available , the SEAi links takes you to several grants available from them, the rest are all individual grants specific to green funding that are available from Enterprise Ireland.

Enterprise Ireland Grants

Climate Action Voucher | Business Support | Enterprise Ireland (enterprise-ireland.com)

https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/supports/energy-and-environmental-aid

https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/supports/capital-investment-for-decarbonisation-processes

https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/supports/energy-monitoring-and-tracking-systems

https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/supports/green-plus

https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/supports/green-start

SEAi Grants

Community Grant Overview | SEAI

SEAI Grants: Home Improvement, Business, EV & More | SEAI

Energy Efficiency Training for SMEs | Business | SEAI

Kind regards,
Steve King | Energy Matters Ireland