Energy minister Eamon Ryan has announced that the government plans to recoup some of the profits big electricity generators have made through the EU's emissions trading scheme.
Over Eur1 million per week in energy retrofit grants are currently being paid out by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), a government official has said.
Figures released from Sustainable Energy Ireland reveal that over 100,000 Irish homes have had Building Energy Ratings completed to date, the majority of which were completed since January 2009, the first year for full implementation of the BER scheme. Introduced in 2007 as a requirement of the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings, the rate of BER publications has steadily increased in 2009, averaging 300 per day, Which Sustainable Energy Ireland indicates an increasing awareness of and compliance with the legislation.