29th October 2024
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke TD has welcomed a near doubling of applications approved for the Energy Efficiency Grant since he announced a series of revisions to its terms last July.
The grant, which is administered by the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), is for businesses which want to become more sustainable by investing in new energy efficient equipment, smart control systems, heat recovery and more. Between January and the end of July this year 51 applications had been approved by the LEOs, with a value of €245,346.26.
In July, however the maximum amount available under the grant increased to €10,000 and the business contribution rate decreased from 50% to 25%. Since then, the number of applications approved has increased to 97, to a value of €634,480.00. This represents a near doubling of grants approved in the three months since its terms were revised.
Minister Burke said that it was really encouraging to see the increase in applications:
“Sustainability is good for business. By cutting energy costs, businesses will save money. That is why I was keen to make it as attractive as possible, for as many businesses as possible, to draw down on the Energy Efficiency Grant.
“It’s great to see the positive impact the revised terms I announced during the summer have made on the number of applications coming through. I’d encourage any business which hasn’t explored using the grant, to contact their Local Enterprise Office about it.”
Last week Minister Burke also announced that the €170 million Power Up grant was now open for registrations to assist hospitality and retail businesses.
Minister Burke said that Power Up was introduced to further assist these sectors with the cost of doing business.
“Local Authorities will be emailing those businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors who received a second payment under the Increased Cost of Business Scheme to inform them of their potential eligibility for a €4,000 grant under Power Up and instructions on how to register. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the Local Authorities for administering this new grant.”
NOTE TO EDITORS:
The Energy Efficiency Grant supports the investment in technologies and equipment of enterprises following on from a Green for Business Report, GreenStart Report or a SEAI Energy Audit with 75% of eligible costs from a minimum grant of €750 to a maximum of €10,000. The aim of the scheme is to reduce the impact of enterprises on the environment thereby increasing the agility and resilience of these businesses, to operate in a sustainable manner.
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