The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has appointed William Walsh as the organisation’s chief executive officer (CEO).
Walsh joined SEAI in 2013 as chief financial officer (CFO) and has served as chief operations officer (COO), and as interim CEO from September 2019.
Leading the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
Chair of the SEAI board Dermot Byrne stated: “I am delighted to announce William’s appointment as our new chief executive officer.
“In his role as interim CEO, William has led the organisation through the challenges of the public health emergency. He has also spearheaded the ambitious plans for the authority to accelerate the decarbonisation of the heat and transport sectors.
“These plans have been endorsed by government in designating SEAI as the National Retrofit Delivery Body. The board and I will work very closely with William in our combined efforts to achieve the very challenging targets for SEAI under the Programme for Government,” he added.
‘Mass movement of society’
Speaking on his appointment, William Walsh added: “Ireland’s climate ambitions have been set and the message is very clear; we need to do everything we can to reduce our use of polluting fossil fuels, and we need to do it quickly.
“To achieve our ambitions, we need a mass movement of society towards new and sustainable ways of living. SEAI has been backed by government to lead and support many areas of the transition.
“I look forward to leading SEAI and collaborating with our stakeholders to drive Ireland’s climate ambition, and share our progress globally,” he concluded.
What is the SEAI?
SEAI is Ireland’s national energy authority investing in, and delivering, appropriate, effective and sustainable energy solutions to help Ireland’s transition to a clean energy future.
The organisation works with the government, homeowners, businesses and communities to achieve solutions, through expertise, funding, educational programmes, policy advice, research and the development of new technologies.
SEAI is funded through the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC).