State spent €22 million helping motorists purchase electric cars last year

The State spent more than €22 million last year in grants towards the purchase of almost 5,000 electric vehicles.

It was part of €140 million that Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), invested in sustainable energy upgrades and projects, an increase of €20 million on 2018.

Last year the SEAI supported 4,971 motorists, 24,700 homeowners and 57 communities with funding for various upgrades and investments to reduce energy consumption.

The number of electric vehicle grants in 2019 was more than double the 2,000 grants paid out in 2018. An average of €4,445 was paid out in grants per electric vehicle purchased under the SEAI scheme.

Almost €45 million in grants was provided to 3,424 homeowners for upgrades to their homes to improve their energy efficiency. A further €22 million was provided to more than 18,000 homes for home energy grants for solar panels, heat pumps, energy controls and insulation.

The SEAI provided €1.5 million to 2,618 motorists to install electric car chargers at their home.

William Walsh, CEO of SEAI said 2019 was a very significant year for the sustainable energy transition and climate action.

"There was a massive rise in advocacy for greater action, most notably in the form of the school’s climate strikes, which happened at a global scale. For SEAI, 2019 was remarkable in the scale of budget allocated to our ever-increasing portfolio of programmes and activities."

"We take great pride in the truly transformative effect which our programmes have on the homeowners, communities and businesses with whom we engage, helping them to lower their energy costs and play a vital role in our clean energy transition.”