30th November 2023
As world leaders gather for the COP 28 summit and energy prices in Ireland remain extraordinarily high, schools in the following eleven areas will today receive emails from the Department of Education inviting them to apply for funding to install solar panels.
These counties are as follows:
- Co. Clare
- Co. Donegal
- Dublin City Council Area
- Co. Galway
- Co. Kerry
- Co. Kilkenny
- Co. Leitrim
- Co. Limerick
- Co. Offaly
- Co. Waterford
- Co. Wicklow
The Department of Education announced earlier this month that additional counties will be included in phase 2 of the rollout. The INTO welcomes this long-awaited initiative, which dovetails with our campaigning on climate action and has the potential to reduce energy bills in our hard-pressed schools. We urge the Department of Education to redouble its efforts to make the scheme available to all schools within the next year.
We also call on the Department to give certainty to schools by announcing the delivery date of the annual minor works grant and providing early clarity on the next Summer Works Scheme. With only four school weeks left in the term and temperatures dipping dramatically, it is not acceptable that schools still do not know when they will receive the minor works grant and the balance of the ancillary services grant.
Schools Photovoltaic Programme (SPP)
1,340 primary schools in 11 counties will today receive an email from the DE inviting them to apply for funding for the installation of roof-mounted solar panels.
Applications are to be submitted online through a designated School Hub. Each of the 1,340 schools will receive a unique username and password in today’s email to enable them to log into the Hub. The email will also advise schools of the information they will need to have to hand when submitting the application.
Funding for up to a maximum of 16 solar panels per school may be approved under the Schools Photovoltaic Programme (SPP). SPP is a devolved programme meaning that school authorities will be provided with funding from the Department to have panels installed by a registered contractor.
For more information click here.