Laois Offaly ETB gets €435k in 'green grants'
Abbeyleix is among the further education and training centres run by the LOETB in Laois
LAOIS Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) has been awarded €435,000 to promote energy efficiency in its buildings this year.
The funding is part of more than €8m in ‘green devolved capital grants’ for the country’s 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs).
The grants will go towards energy efficiency measures in further education and training (FET) colleges in Laois and across the country. Local FET centres include Portlaoise, Abbeyleix and Portarlington.
The annual grants enable ETBs to develop ‘small scale but high impact’ measures such as energy audits and controls, energy upgrades and decarbonisation measures.
Initiatives that will be considered include low-energy lighting, insulation upgrades and replacement of fossil fuel heating systems with renewable heating technology.
Announcing the grants on 10 February, Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless said the funding would help ETBs to meet their climate obligations “in respect of the decarbonisation of the FET estate”.
Funding is provided under Project 2040 and will be distributed through SOLAS, the State agency that oversees the FET sector.
Minister Lawless added: “The energy use and CO2 emissions of FET buildings in an ETB’s estate are part of my department's focus. The goal of the green devolved capital grant is to help ETBs meet the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate 2030 targets.” Dr Avril Behan, who is director of FET College of the Future in SOLAS, said the funding package would help improve the energy efficiency of FET buildings and campuses.
She said: “This funding will provide essential support to ETBs helping them to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and ensure that they are leading by example within their communities.
“SOLAS is committed to sustainability, to ensuring that our economy is resilient, and to upskilling our learners in facilities that demonstrate the achievement of green standards across the country. This funding will ensure that the FET sector plays its part in contributing to a greener, more sustainable environment.”
