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.

Chair of the SEAI board Dermot Byrne stated: “I am delighted to announce William’s appointment as our new chief executive officer.

"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.

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.

"I look forward to leading SEAI and collaborating with our stakeholders to drive Ireland’s climate ambition, and share our progress globally," he concluded.

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).