GREEN ENERGY development in Ireland received a boost yesterday, as a funding programme for sustainable businesses was expanded and a new think tank for researching energy and environment issues was launched at the University of Limerick (UL) by Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan.

Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) announced it would fund an additional 10 companies under its incubator programme for emerging companies in the sustainable energy sector this year.

This brings to 14 the number of firms funded under the programme, which encourages business development in bioenergy, ocean and wind energy, microgeneration, energy efficiency and hydrogen and fuel cells.

Each company can receive up to €22,000 in funding over two years and the money must be used toward fees and other costs for businesses already attached to one of 22 eligible business incubation centres located at third-level institutions in Ireland. Financial support will also be given for management training.

"What SEI wants to do is make it more attractive for entrepreneurs to develop products and services based on innovative thinking arising out of their academic work," said SEI chairman Brendan Halligan.

The incubator programme was launched on a pilot basis last year and awarded funds to four clean energy companies: Renewable Power Generation, AirEn Services, ApEnvEcon and Eirzyme. These companies will continue to be funded this year.

In a separate initiative officially launched yesterday, six UL research centres were merged to form the Charles Parsons Initiative on Energy and Sustainable Environment (CPI).

The centre will devote itself to researching the national implications of depleting fossil fuel reserves and the growing global energy crisis.