renewable energy

Are you one of the many people out there that are looking to build your own home, maybe planning an extension, or carrying out home improvements? Well if the answer is yes and you are forward thinking, you’ll want to avail of the many alternative energy grants available to you.

Currently, there are many energy grants available to homeowners who are installing renewable energy technology. Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), were set up by the government as Ireland’s national energy agency and administrates the greener homes grant scheme for the Irish government. The greener homes scheme provides assistance to homeowners who intend to purchase a new renewable energy heating system. Technologies included in the grant scheme are wood pellet boilers, wood pellet stoves and solar heating systems amongst others.

Kedco is an approved supplier under the Greener Homes Scheme and our eligible technologies are all listed below.

Kedco will assist you in selecting the best renewable energy system for your home and assist in preparation of your Greener Homes Scheme Grant application, which must be approved before any work is undertaken.

The amount of the grants is fixed and vary according to the technology chosen. The grant covers the cost of the purchase of the system. The product must be listed on the SEI’s Registered Products List with the installation of the technology being carried out by an installer who also appears on the SEI’s Registered Installer List.

A breakdown of the grants for the technologies listed above are as follows:

Solar Thermal Space and/or Hot water Heating (Evacuated Tube) - €300/m2 (max of 6m2)

Solar Thermal Space and/or Hot water Heating (Flat Plate) - €250/m2 (max of 6m2)

Wood Chip or Pellet Stove - €800

Wood Chip or Pellet Stove with integral boiler - €1,400

Wood Chip or Pellet Boiler - €2,500

Wood Gasification Boiler - €2,000

NOTE: Product must be listed, at the date of application, on SEI’s list of conforming equipment (available on request or online)

You will find more information here on renewable energy grants or

Visit the SEI Greener Homes Scheme website.

Some 2.3 million people work in the renewable energy industry or supplier industries across the planet, according to a new report.

The World Watch Institute said while the renewable energy industry was growing, the coal, oil and natural gas sectors were downsizing year after year, with high-cost production equipment replacing workers.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost in the UK, US, China, Germany and South Africa in the last two decades, the WWI said in its Vital Signs Update report.

“Renewables are poised to tackle our energy crisis and create millions of new jobs worldwide,” according to senior researcher Michael Renner.

“Meanwhile, fossil fuel jobs are increasingly becoming fossils themselves, as coal mining communities and others worry about their livelihoods.”

The WWI said Germany, Spain and Denmark in renewable energy development and green jobs as a result of strong government support.

Across the planet, the solar thermal industry employs at least 624,000 people last year, with workers in the wind power industry reaching 300,000.

More than one million people work in the biomass and biofuels sector, the US think tank said.