Seven projects receive €77m under Government’s Climate Action Plan

A renewable gas facility is among seven projects being funded in the first round of the Government’s Climate Action Fund.

Shortly after the Irish Government admitted that we had no hope of reaching our carbon emission reduction targets for 2020, it has now revealed its plans to at least reduce this significantly in the decades that come afterwards.

This morning (28 November), An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, TD, and Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton, TD, announced that seven projects are to receive €77m under the first round of the Government’s new Climate Action Fund, developed as part of Project Ireland 2040.

Last May, the fund was signed off to provide at least €500m to support initiatives that could make major steps to reducing Ireland’s carbon footprint in the world. Under this first round, almost 100 applications were received, with the seven selected projects expected to leverage €300m as a result.

These projects include:

• ESB eCars is to receive up to €10m to expand the nationwide electric vehicle charging network and facilitate large-scale electric vehicle uptake over the next decade.
• Gas Networks Ireland will receive up to €8.5m to develop Green Renewable Agricultural Zero Emissions (GRAZE) gas. This will be the first transmission-connected central grid injection facility for renewable gas, and a grant scheme to support around 74 compressed natural gas vehicles.
• Irish Rail will receive up to €15m to design new hybrid power packs for intercity railcars to reduce diesel use and greenhouse gas emissions. Following a proof of concept in one three-car train, the hybrid power packs will be implemented across the wider fleet.
• Dublin City Council will receive up to €20m to capture waste heat generated at industrial facilities, in particular the incinerator plant in Ringsend, and pipe it into homes and businesses in the Poolbeg, Ringsend and docklands areas of Dublin city.
• South Dublin County Council will receive up to €4.5m to establish a sustainable district heating solution in the Tallaght area to provide low-carbon heat to public sector, residential and commercial customers.
• The Road Management Office will receive up to €17.5m to retrofit all remaining 326,000 non‐LED local authority public lights to high-efficiency LED lanterns, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by 40,000 tonnes per annum.
• The Three Counties Agency will receive up to €1.4m to install telematic equipment on more than 1,000 vehicles to improve the fuel efficiency of heavy goods vehicles.

Varadkar said: “We know that the challenge presented by climate change requires more than investment. The transition to a low-carbon world will require profound changes in how we live our lives.

“We want the Climate Action Fund to empower communities, industry, researchers, the public sector and citizens to take ownership of climate action efforts.”