The SEAI has recently launched a new scheme enabling SMEs in Ireland to access financial support to fund energy auditing works across their organisation.
In the light of the COVID pandemic, many SMEs are navigating difficult times and looking for ways to ensure the resilience of their business through improved financial efficiency. Additionally, as the Net Zero carbon agenda gains increasing traction, businesses across all sectors are coming under pressure to demonstrate to their clients that they are making strides to limit the impacts of their operations on the wider environment – particularly through initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint.
One of the primary ways of understanding how to do this is through a process of energy and carbon auditing, and baselining of the performance of the built estate a business operates from.
However, access to energy auditing expertise obviously comes at a cost – but the new SEAI Support Scheme for Energy Audits looks to mitigate this by providing funding opportunities of SMEs in the Republic of Ireland.
How does it work?
The Support Scheme for Energy Audits (SSEA) supports SMEs registered in Ireland with an annual energy spend of at least €10,000.
Businesses that are interested in taking advantage of this scheme will have access to a register of approved energy auditors, who will review electricity, gas, oil, diesel and any other energy sources (e.g. company fleet) across the organisation, and then follow 3 main steps:
- Collect and complete a review of a facility’s energy data.
- Undertake a site visit and in-depth audit of areas for improvement and financial & carbon savings.
- Produce a detailed energy audit report, specific to the business, identifying areas where cost and carbon savings can be realised.
The detailed reporting produced will provide the business with a roadmap to make solid forward strides on their energy management journey – through a list of concrete actions to become more energy efficient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make significant financial savings.
The SEAI will provide a €2,000 (ex. VAT) voucher towards the cost of the energy audit – and it is anticipated that this will fully cover the cost of the audit for the majority of SMEs. Once the audit is complete and the reporting provided, the business then ‘pays’ the auditor with the voucher, and the auditor will claim the cost of the voucher from the SEAI.
All in all, this scheme provides SMEs in Ireland with a simple and effective way to access high-quality expert advice, and help them on their way to significantly reducing energy, carbon and operational overheads – at zero cost to the business.
How can ETS help?
For over 20 years, ETS has assisted organisations of all sizes and sectors to dramatically improve the energy efficiency and carbon performance of their buildings – significantly reducing environmental impacts whilst saving substantial sums of money – across individual assets and large international portfolios.
Operating across Ireland, ETS can support SMEs gain access to the funding available through the SSEA and drive improved performance across their businesses.
Whatever the nature of your business, we can help.
To discuss your requirements, please get in touch. You can contact us by calling 0117 379 0850 or drop us an email at enquiries@energy-ts.com.