Funding of €1 million has been secured to help hundreds of houses in Galway City undergo retrofits to make them warmer and more energy efficient.
Homes in Galway City’s Westside area can now access a one-stop-shop for home retrofits with funding secured from by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) and Galway City Council.
This one-stop-shop, the “Warm Home Hub Westside” will provide advice to households on retrofitting, consultations with contractors, and information sessions, which will be managed by the Galway Energy Co-Operative.
The grant funding is being provided by the EU’s Net Zero Cities Programme, and aims to help 250 households begin retrofitting journeys.
John Daly, Economist with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, welcomed the €1m funding from the Net Zero Cities Programme, hailing it as a potential catalyst for change in Galway City and the wider North West region.
“We’re delighted that the Net Zero Cities Programme has opted to help us kick-start our retrofitting ambitions in Galway City’s Decarbonisation Zone.”
“The €1m funding will enable us to bring together leading experts and innovators to assess the challenges involved in retrofitting homes in the Westside of Galway City, develop and apply solutions, and share our learnings with our regional stakeholders.”
He added that the region “performs poorly in terms of the number of homes with Building Energy Ratings between A and B2 in comparison to the national average.”
“Indeed, many areas in the Northern and Western Region of Ireland are still reliant on oil and solid fuels as their primary source of heat, increasing their vulnerability in terms of health and exposure to energy price shocks.”
In addition to the new Hub, University of Galway and ATU Galway are also teaming up on a new programme to incentivise 60 personnel to undertake retrofitting training, improve existing retrofit courses, and develop guidelines for contractors to monitor performance of retrofits.
Speaking about the initiative, Mayor of Galway City Cllr. Eddie Hoare said, “As well as guiding households through their retrofitting journey, the Net Zero Cities team will be working with the construction industry to build capacity in the sector.”
“This pilot project and the funding received through the EU Net Zero Cities Pilot Cities Programme provides Galway City with an excellent opportunity to test innovative approaches to reducing carbon emissions, in line with Galway City Council’s Climate Action Plan.”
Public and private sector partners will also form a steering group to identify challenges associated with retrofitting in the Galway City Decarbonisation Zone and fund solutions to help overcome these challenges.
The Net Zero Programme aims to overall help Galway City Council achieve a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions within the Decarbonisation Zone by 2030.
