£20 Million Energy Fund To Offer Support To Local Businesses

Business grants are going to be available for local businesses who wish to purchase and install energy efficient equipment in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint and in turn reduce their energy consumption. This new £20 million fund has been launched today, it’s named the Energy Efficiency Capital Grant (EECG) fund, and it will offer businesses grants of up to £150,000 for investments in areas such as lighting, heating and cooling equipment, motors and drives, compressed air systems, and onsite renewable energy generation.

Realising A Vision Of A Greener More Prosperous Economy

The funding is to run over a 5 year period and Department for the Economy Permanent Secretary, Ian Snowden is quoted in an article on the Invest NI website as saying:

“This new scheme represents a pivotal step towards realising our vision of a greener, more prosperous economy. 

“The grant will help companies invest in technologies that reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. This will lower costs for businesses and also progress Minister Murphy’s decarbonisation journey towards net zero as set out in his Economic Vision.” He went on to say that: “This scheme shows how government, and businesses can work together to build prosperity at the same time as reducing carbon emissions.”

Economic Growth Going Hand In Hand With Environmental Responsibility

And in the same article Kieran Donoghue, CEO of Invest Northern Ireland, is quoted as saying:

“At Invest NI, we are committed to driving economic growth hand in hand with environmental responsibility. The EECG programme is our commitment to empower businesses to embrace energy efficiency measures that will not only reduce operational costs but also contribute significantly to our collective journey towards a net-zero future.” 
 
“The grant is available to a wide range of businesses in sectors from retail to advanced manufacturing to hospitality. Using less energy and utilising the energy we do use more efficiently is vital to reduce carbon emissions and lower energy bills. By empowering businesses to ‘do more with less’, we are safeguarding our environment and nurturing a resilient and prosperous economy for generations to come.”

This is a very laudable funding scheme which could be a real boost to many local businesses in Northern Ireland. The way forward for companies in the future will certainly be to ensure they are running their business as close to carbon neutral as they possibly can be. This will cut their costs and protect the environment which can only be a good thing.