An EU funded project on sustainable technologies involving communities in Dundalk, Switzerland and Austria has achieved in excess of €20 million in energy savings, €10 million of which were achieved in the Louth town. These savings were achieved across the public partners including Louth County Council, The HSE, O’Fiaich College, Dundalk Town Council as well as local businesses. The outcomes of the HOLISTIC Project (Holistic Optimisation Leading to Integration of Sustainable Technologies In Communities)were presented to the international partners at the final project board meeting in Dundalk last night, which was hosted by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and Louth County Council.
The three international towns involved in the HOLISTIC project were Neuchatel in Switzerland, Modling in Austria and Dundalk. The six year project, which had a budget of approximately €10 million (over €3m for each community) and leveraged over €50m in additional investment, has enabled the completion of 25 sustainable energy projects across Europe.
Commenting Brian Motherway, Chief Executive of SEAI said: “SEAI has been delighted to partner in the HOLISTIC project which has enabled us to forge strong local and international partnerships. It’s rewarding to see the good sustainable energy work that started in Dundalk is now being replicated in other areas around the country.”
Commenting, Councillor Eamon O’Boyle, Chairman of Dundalk Town Council said: . “This was a fantastic project to be involved in where Dundalk benefitted from almost €10 million in energy savings. As a community, Dundalk has led from the front and shown great example by embracing sustainable energy technologies.”
Projects in Dundalk included a pilot of smart meters and home energy efficiency upgrades to Local Authority homes, along with efficiency improvements to the Louth County Hospital and O’Fiaich College.
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About HOLISTIC
The HOLISTIC (Holistic Optimisation Leading to Integration of Sustainable Technologies In Communities) project was one of nine projects successfully evaluated by the European Commission to work on a Concerto II project. It is one of two projects in Ireland working under this programme; the other project is the Cloughjordan sustainable village project.
The Irish partners in the HOLISTIC project are:
1. SEAI
2. IDA
3. HSE
4. ESB Networks
5. Louth County Council
6. Dundalk Town Council
7. Louth VEC and
8. Louth Creative Craft Hub
About CONCERTO
The CONCERTO initiative is part of the Europe’s Framework Program for Research and Technological Development, supervised by the DG Energy of the European Commission