The EPA report ‘Air Quality in Ireland 2009 – Key Indicators of Ambient Air Quality’ shows that air quality in Ireland was generally good throughout the country. The report provides an overview of air quality in Ireland for 2009, based on data obtained from 28 monitoring stations. Data from the EPA monitoring program shows that … Read more
The Commission has presented its new strategy for a competitive, sustainable and secure energy. The Communication ‘Energy 2020’ defines the energy priorities for the next ten years and sets the actions to be taken in order to tackle the challenges of saving energy, achieving a market with competitive prices and secure supplies, boosting technological leadership, … Read more
Castlemartyr Resort in East Cork has received an environmental award from Green Hospitality Ireland, the only Irish developed environmental certification standard for the hospitality sector. Following an audit from the Green Hospitality Programme in May 2010, Castlemartyr gained the award for its sterling green credentials. This means recognition of the hotel’s innovative efforts in introducing … Read more
Energia, a member of the Viridian Group, has achieved financial close for its Eur72 million investment in 51 megawatts of electricity capacity in new wind farms at Crigshane and Church Hill in County Tyrone. The development forms part of Energia’s all-island renewable energy plans. Energia has completed Eur65 million in non-recourse project financing with Nord/LB … Read more
Average CO2 emissions from new cars sold in the EU dropped by 5% last year, the biggest annual fall ever recorded, a report just published by the European Commission shows. The Commission report summarising data on emissions from new passenger cars for the monitoring year 2009 shows a 5.1% drop in average C02 emissions against … Read more
ESB has launched HALO, the new innovative, home energy efficiency service designed to enable homeowners to reduce their energy bills while ensuring that their homes are kept warm and comfortable in a more environmentally-friendly way. To better understand the needs of homeowners today, ESB carried out a survey earlier this year which revealed that 66% … Read more
The Government has published the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan for public consultation. Ireland’s ocean territory is ten times our land mass size. This Plan, in conjunction with the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Irish Waters also now published, looks at offshore wind, wave and tidal energy resources and how that could be maximised in the … Read more
A £70 million investment fund to secure Scotland’s place at the forefront of the global offshore wind industry has been announced by the Scottish Government. The National Renewables Infrastructure Fund – to strengthen port and manufacturing facilities and supply chain provision for manufacturing offshore wind turbines and related components – will leverage significant private sector … Read more
The Government has signed an agreement with Toyota to deliver its new Prius Plug-In Hybrid vehicle to the Irish market. The vehicle, which is the first Toyota hybrid to use lithium-ion batteries, will be available on a trial basis here in advance of its full launch to the market in 2012. As part of the … Read more
Agreement that has been reached with the EU Commission on the content of Ireland’s 2nd National Action Programme (NAP) under the Nitrates Directive. This new programme will run to the end of 2013. A comprehensive public consultation process on the proposed NAP revisions commenced in June this year; 45 submissions were received including from the … Read more