Tag: Ireland (Page 7 of 11)

Renewable Energy Targets 2020 Ireland Austria EU27 — Source: Eurostat

Renewable Energy Research Trip to Austria

January 25, 2012 / barros / 4 Comments

Last November I went on a research trip to Austria. The trip included a number of visits to factories from the Renewable Energy Sector and also to buildings with Passive House characteristics.

Austria is one of the world’s leaders in renewable energy and sustainability. And I was very well impressed with all the places we visited and the way Austria is developing their sustainability strategy.

Source: Eurostat

Austria generates 67% of its electricity from renewable sources. Ireland with its 14% is still a long way to go to catch this performance. That is why we can learn so much from the Austrian model.

The research trip included the visit to the following:

Power Tower (Passive House building)
SOLution Solartechnik (solar panels)
Fronius (solar inverters, battery charging systems)
Guntamatic (biomass boilers)
Neura (heat pumps)
Biomass Research Centre Bioenergy 2020+
Billa supermarket (Green Building Award)
Smart City Project Klosterneuburg
Energy Base (Passive house offices)

During 2012 I will try to post more details and photos of this trip. Watch this space!

Energy will continue to be a priority for the European Commission going forward and we all need to work together in order to be more energy efficient. Ireland has been progressing quite well and its capacity to deliver renewable electricity has continued to grow by an average of more than 150 MW per year.

The target for Ireland in the European Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) is a 16% share of renewable energy in gross final consumption by 2020. New and more strict regulations have been introduced in order to meet this target.

To learn more about Energy in Ireland click here to download the 2011 Report “Energy in Ireland 1990 – 2010” published by SEAI.

Isabel Barros

Better Energy Homes Scheme – New Grant Amounts

January 2, 2012 / barros / 0 Comments

The Better Energy Homes scheme re-opened on 8^th of December 2011.

Following a review with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources a number of scheme revisions have been agreed.

This table available from www.seai.ie shows the current grants available.

The two key changes to the scheme are:

Revised grant amounts for all wall insulation types and Building Energy Rating (BER);
Internal and external wall insulation grants will no longer be one single amount, but rather be based upon the house type.

Grants for attic insulation and all heating system upgrades including solar remain unchanged.

There are 2 methods to apply for a Better Energy scheme grant.

Online: Response within 3 working days
Application Form by Post: Response within 20 working days

Average Irish Construction Costs 2011

October 18, 2011 / aoife / 8 Comments

Construction Costs in Recession Ireland and Useful Tools to Estimate Your Construction Costs are two of the most popular posts in our blog.

This time we bring you the Average Irish Construction Costs for 2011 as published by Bruce Shaw in their latest Handbook 2011. Bruce Shaw is one of Europe’s leading quantity surveying practices, they provide construction cost management, construction project management and consultancy services.

The average construction costs table is generated using Bruce Shaw’s Cost Database and sets out typical building construction costs.

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The basic hourly wage rates for Craftman and General Operatives are approximately 5% lower than 2008 rates.

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The Society of Chartered Surveyors publishes every year a guide to rebuilding costs in Ireland. This guide is intended to assist in insuring a house and the costs included are based on building rates as of March 2011.

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