Donegal Retrofit Mission secures €2.66m Project Development Services financing

The ‘Donegal Retrofit Mission’ Project is set to boost the ongoing establishment of an ‘Energy Agency’ for the North West.

Donegal County Council and the North West Energy Agency are delighted to secure €2.66m Project Development Services financing through the ELENA Facility under the InvestEU Advisory Hub.

The ‘North West Energy Agency’ (NWEA) was established by Donegal County Council to support homeowners, businesses and communities to implement building energy efficiency improvements throughout Donegal.

The Council, through this relatively new ‘Energy Agency’ has attracted funding for a new project called the ‘Donegal Retrofit Mission’ which will allow the ‘NWEA’ to scale up delivery of works over the next three to five year period.

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The North West Energy Agency (NWEA) is aiming to develop Area Based Retrofitting services in peripheral regions such as the North West, which it says are currently underserved by existing one-stop-shops.

The initiative will focus on both domestic and non-domestic properties, supporting a wide range of measures including the retrofit of buildings, the installation of renewable heating systems, and the rollout of solar PV technology. By expanding access to these services, the NWEA hopes to drive greater uptake of sustainable energy solutions in the region and ensure communities benefit from lower energy costs and reduced carbon emissions.

Specifically, how will the NWEA help home and businesses with energy efficiency improvements?

The NWEA will provide independent information to homeowners / business owners on how to make their homes and buildings more energy efficient, for instance - the type of works that may be required, funding options including SEAI grants and low-interest loans and how these Energy efficiency improvements could be delivered.

The ‘Donegal Retrofit Mission’ has secured funding which will be administered in partnership with the European Investment Bank through the ELENA Facility under the InvestEU Advisory Hub.

The initiative will allow the North West Energy Agency (NWEA) to employ four additional staff to deliver an ambitious programme of work aimed at improving energy efficiency across the county. As part of the project, registered auditors will carry out Building Energy Ratings (BER) on selected properties, providing homeowners with a clear outline of current performance and recommended retrofit measures.

The programme will also draw on an anonymised BER database to identify clusters of properties that meet agreed criteria, with user-friendly retrofit reports developed to guide property owners, contractors, lenders and other stakeholders on specific works required, associated costs, and expected savings in both financial and carbon terms. In addition, the scheme will place a strong emphasis on marketing and communications, including public events, media campaigns, a dedicated website, social media engagement and webinars to raise awareness and encourage participation.

What’s ahead on this NWEA journey for 2025 - 2028?

Clearly, the NWEA has ambitious plans to scale-up rollout of supporting measures over the coming years for retrofit of buildings and adding renewable heating and solar options.

The NWEA will be keen to work with homeowners, business owners and owners of community buildings over the coming years who are ready to embark on their building energy efficiency improvement works.