Castlerea-based Eco Smart Design in conjunction with the board of management of Cloverhill National School in Roscommon and Oliver McDermott Construction, have formulated a comprehensive programme of works to improve both the energy efficiency and the physical condition of the school.

Following a detailed assessment Eco Smart Design, specified the necessary works to make Cloverhill NS Roscommon’s first ‘A’ Rated eco smart school. The works have been programmed to be carried out over a specific time period giving preference to the most critical works to be carried out first.

Initially, Eco Smart external insulation has been applied to the external walls of the school. External insulation such as this protects the structure of the building from both cold and moisture. Any heat that is created within the building is retained, thereby giving a stable and comfortable study and work environment for the students.

A new heating and ventilation system has also been installed in the school. The upgrade of the heating system and the external insulation together over time, will reduce the running costs of the school greatly. The design chosen for Cloverhill has created an eye catching, vibrant, attractive facade which will help create an exciting, learning environment for all students.

Bord Gais Energy has formed a partnership with Siemens Ireland that will allow Irish businesses to avail of a full, end to end energy efficiency service for the first time. The two brands will combine their extensive expertise to the benefit of Irish companies looking to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

The initial deal between the two companies is for three years, but it is being viewed as a long term strategic partnership that will benefit Bord Gais Energy customers now and in the future. By combining their respective expertise and experience, Bord Gais Energy and Siemens expect to deliver significant benefits for client companies help them implement energy savings of up to 20%.

The first partnership of its kind, Bord Gais Energy and Siemens are offering Irish businesses an opportunity to improve energy efficiency, through assessment, design, implementation and management, without incurring additional costs.

Siemens and BGE will develop a tailored solution to a company’s specific needs and investment capability which can be paid for by the savings made in energy spend within the first few years.  The significant advantage of this service is that Bord Gais Energy and Siemens can tell a customer how much they can save before they ever spend a cent.  

Dave Kirwan, managing director of Bord Gais Energy, explains: “This is a significant development for Bord Gais Energy in that we are yet again extending our core business. By partnering with Siemens to become the first total energy solutions provider in Ireland, Bord Gais Energy is once again leading the way in the energy market by offering comprehensive services to help our customers use less energy.”

Paul Lynam, chief executive of Siemens, Dublin, comments: “Globally Siemens has completed more than 1,000 energy efficiency projects which have reduced energy costs by some €2 billion, while CO2 emissions were also reduced by around 1.2 million tons. We are delighted to be participating in this partnership and look forward to working together with Bord Gáis Energy in delivering sustainable savings for Irish business. While every case will be assessed individually, based on our experience of international projects, average energy cost savings of 15-20% can be realistically achieved.”

The new service will initially target high energy users in the industrial and commercial sector and will be rolled out to SMEs over the following 12 months.

A new report, commissioned by SHV Energy, has found that European residential heating systems fuelled by Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) are 20 per cent lower in carbon emissions, compared to those fuelled by heating oil. The study, Carbon footprints of heating oil and LPG heating systems, also found that the carbon emissions from an LPG fuelled heating system are about 15 per cent lower than a heating system using a 20/80 blend of bio and conventional heating oil.

The report is the first detailed evaluation of its type. Comparisons were based on real-world efficiencies, as defined by the EcoBoiler model, a representation of EU heating systems developed for the European Commission in its ongoing work on energy efficiency.

Footprints were estimated in seven countries that are representative of the EU and constitute two-thirds of the EU-27 population: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland and the UK. For each, the footprint was defined for a new boiler system in an average, existing dwelling, over the 17-year lifetime of the boiler.

In Ireland’s case it found that the country has the second highest annual space heating demand and energy input at 18,376 kWh per average existing dwelling, while the EU-27 average is about halfway between the two at 13,822 kWh.

The report found that when comparing the carbon footprints of new heating oil systems versus an LPG heating system in Ireland, the LPG system had an 18 per cent reduction in carbon footprint over the lifetime of the heating system. The carbon emissions saved by the LPG fuelled system is the equivalent on average of a new car being driven for 136,116 kilometres.

The report used the latest available data on emissions of greenhouse gases in crude oil and natural gas production, so-called ‘well-to-tank’ data. It offers a detailed comparison of carbon footprints for those homes and businesses deciding whether to use gas or heating oil for their energy needs.  As well as consumers, it will also be a useful resource for regulators and installers.

“It will come as no surprise that heating Irish homes and offices contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and that a key target of climate-change policy is to improve the associated carbon footprint,” says Michael Kossack, chief executive of Calor. “At Calor, our aim is to become the rural energy provider of choice by delivering innovative, clean, efficient energy solutions to rural Ireland. This report rightly identifies LPG as a fuel for the future, one that emits less greenhouse gases and a fuel source that has the potential to meet a significant portion of our future rural energy needs”.

Green Energy

Analysis by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) of the economic and enterprise benefits of the sustainable energy sector, states that over 20,000 jobs can be created within the sector over the next eight years to 2020. Currently 10,000 jobs are supported in the sector which has the potential to treble by 2020 by creating and supporting jobs, not only directly in renewable energy and energy efficiency (13,000 jobs), but also indirectly by enhancing business competitiveness (7,000 jobs).

“The sustainable energy sector offers significant benefits to Ireland, including; creating jobs, increased competitiveness and future proofing against upward price trends,” points Professor Owen Lewis, chief executive of SEAI. “The transition to sustainable energy is well underway, but the pace needs to accelerate for Irish society to truly benefit.  Ireland has significant and growing strengths in the areas of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies; now business and policy makers must work together to deliver on the export potential that exists within these key areas.”

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, TD comments: “Sustainable energy is becoming the norm in Ireland and with that change comes many economic opportunities and jobs. Irish enterprises adopting sustainable energy practices are reducing costs, becoming more competitive, securing jobs and as a result are delivering real benefits in all sectors of our economy. “

The Government recently launched the Better Energy Workplaces Scheme 2012, a capital fund to support sustainable energy investments in 2012 in the public, commercial, industrial and community sectors. The fund will make available Eur7.5 million for projects that support energy performance contracting; a key element of Ireland’s National Energy Efficiency Plan. Public sector projects are particularly encouraged in order to assist in meeting the 33% public sector energy efficiency improvement target in 2020.

Indeed an impact report on Better Energy Workplaces 2011 shows that the State’s Eur11 million investment to support 85 organisational energy upgrades, will be repaid in energy savings in one year.

Ireland should increase and diversify the variety of natural materials it uses to produce energy and heat, according to a new report by the Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht. Special consideration should be given to organic waste such as tree cuttings and trimmings from forests and farm slurry, according the report which was written by Committee members Timmy Dooley TD and Senator Cait Keane.

The report is based on their observations from attending the 11th Interparliamentary Meeting on Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency in Sweden. Among the report’s other recommendations are:

* Any carbon taxes introduced in Ireland should be differentiated on the basis of the quantity of carbon in the material being taxed;

* Any such taxes should, as Sweden does, be used to shift some of the tax burden from direct income taxation on working people on low incomes;

* Buildings, new and old, should be built and maintained in a way that minimises their energy consumption;

* The Public Sector should lead by purchasing and maintaining its buildings in accordance with this principle;

* Mandatory building renovations should be considered where these will create definite and noticeable savings and improvements;

* All incinerator and energy producing sites should be designed to utilise both the heat and energy they produce to the fullest extent by connecting them with domestic, commercial or industrial users of heat and energy.

Pressure is mounting on the EU to raise the carbon price under the Emissions Trading System (ETS) – the EU’s main tool for reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions. The European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee has just voted by a significant majority in favour of withholding carbon allowances in the ETS – a move that would increase the carbon price if it were adopted.

The price of carbon has collapsed in recent years – mainly due to the financial crisis, which reduced industrial production and therefore emissions, flooding the carbon market with surplus emissions allowances. This has seriously impacted the effectiveness of the ETS.

The vote came as part of discussions on the Energy Efficiency Directive. The Parliament’s Environment Committee had already voted in favour of the move at the end of January.

“It is good to see two important Parliamentary committees recognise the impact the economic crisis has had on the effectiveness of the ETS, and propose solutions to fix it,” comments Remi Gruet, Senior Regulatory Affairs Advisor for Environment and Climate at the European Wind Energy Association. “The European Commission and Council must now support and implement measures to withhold carbon allowances so that the ETS can rapidly start reducing Europe’s emissions as it was designed to do.”

The recent European Commission paper on the impacts of moving beyond a 20% emissions reduction target shows that it is possible to withhold emissions allowances without harming the lower-income countries in the EU.

The first two projects have been approved as part of the government-supported International Energy Research Centre. Contracts valued at a total of €1million have been agreed between the International Energy Research Centre and four higher education institutions – NUI Galway, University College Cork, Cork Institute of Technology and Dublin Institute of Technology.

The cutting-edge research projects will focus on energy efficiency and energy storage in commercial buildings, in particular: using wireless networks to control and manage heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, and redesigning and developing storage heating solutions.

The International Energy Research Centre is a collaboration between industry, Departments and Agencies and leading Irish and international research groups with proven expertise in technological areas which are becoming increasingly relevant to the energy challenge. It is hosted by the Tyndall National Institute in Cork. It is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources working with a coordinated agency project team of IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

The two projects are intended to complement existing world class energy research activities in Ireland including the internationally renowned smart grid and renewable energy integration research at the UCD Electricity Research Centre working in partnership with global companies as well as EirGrid and ESB Networks.

“Energy is of fundamental strategic importance to the economy and it is essential that we continue to invest in research to develop energy efficiency technologies which will underpin the Government’s energy efficiency objectives and support economic growth in the clean technology sector. These partnership projects are a case in point,” says Pat Rabbitte TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD comments: “A key part of this Government’s plan to get out of this crisis and get jobs and growth back into the economy is to focus on sectors where as a country we have distinct advantages. The green economy clearly is one of these sectors, as not only do we have unrivalled natural resources in the area, but we have also built up a base of excellent research strength over the past decade.”

The European Commission has released the selection results for the 2011 call for project proposals under the Intelligent Energy – Europe (IEE) programme. Notifications are underway to open negotiations with the 54 projects which were selected from over 340 proposals to receive a share of the Eur66 million available under this year’s call.

These 54 multinational projects were tabled by over 600 organisations across Europe. They focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, clean transport and mobilising local energy investments. The IEE programme is a key contributor to the EU 20/20/20 energy targets.

University College Cork (UCC) has become the first third level institution worldwide to be recommended for ISO 50001 Standard (Energy Management Systems). ISO 50001 is an international standard that enables organisations to establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy performance, including energy efficiency, use, and consumption.

UCC was the first third level institution to implement this internationally recognised standard since it was launched just over four months ago. UCC is also the first public sector body in Ireland to be recommended for certification to ISO 50001. Implementation of this standard can lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy cost, and other related environmental impacts, through systematic management of energy.

The university, which has 2,740 staff and 20,000 students, has a long track record in energy management and has been particularly successful in winning grant support from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to support energy saving initiatives. UCC currently has projects involving lighting, metering, heat recovery, ventilation, photovoltaics and wind energy. under way across the campus.

Enerit software was used to allow rapid implementation of ISO 50001. This standard became internationally recognised in June 2011 and promises to reach over 500,000 organisations worldwide.

The ISO 50001 award to UCC follows on the award of the world’s first Green Campus Flag for third level institutions by An Taisce and the FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) in 2010.

While the women of Ireland are more environmentally friendly than their male counterparts (93% of women compared to 86% of men), a recent national survey shows that men are significantly more aware of household energy efficiency schemes.

In a survey of 500 people across Ireland, conducted independently by a research agency on behalf of the Bord Gais Energy Home Team services, 62% of male respondents declared familiarity with energy efficiency schemes compared to 46% of female respondents.

It seems that men and women are also motivated by different factors when it comes to making their homes more energy efficient. Females again came out stronger on the environmental awareness side, with half of all female respondents (50%) saying it would be to ‘reduce my carbon footprint’ compared to 40% of males choosing this same factor. 74% of men, by contrast, said that they would have a home energy audit or service carried out to save costs in the long run.

If they thought it would save energy in their home this winter, nearly three quarters of the respondents (73%) said they would consider availing of home insulation, with a quarter (24%) saying they would be willing to spend up to Eur2000 on top of the government grants available to them. An additional 38% would be willing to spend between Eur500 and Eur1000.

“The results of this in-depth survey have produced some really interesting findings, particularly in regard to levels of awareness and good intentions compared to numbers actually acting on this and reaping the benefits,” points out Mark Prentice, head of Retail at Bord Gais Energy.

He continues: “Men in particular are highly aware of the advantages of an energy efficient home and women share environmental concerns. But despite predictions of another cold winter ahead, two in every five people surveyed (43%) feel their homes are currently poorly insulated to deal with such harsh weather. Those living in urban areas were more concerned with every second respondent (54%) feeling their home does not have proper insulation, compared to rural areas where 31% are of the same opinion.”

Poor roof and cavity wall insulation were cited as the main reason people believe their home to be poorly insulated and in fact these are two really simple and straightforward improvements. When asked how likely they would be to avail of an energy efficiency scheme over the next 12 months, over half (56%) said this was likely.

The Government has launched ‘Developing a Green Enterprise’, a concise guide for businesses in Ireland to the supports (including State-funded programmes) offered by the various State agencies with responsibility for environment, enterprise development and energy.

The Green Enterprise Guide has been developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. Developing a Green Enterprise provides directional information on where different businesses can go for assistance in relation to water conservation, waste prevention, energy efficiency and clean technology.  The guide also provides an overview of the key state agencies involved and the programmes and assistance they offer.

Over half of all Irish companies have taken action to improve their energy efficiency in the last three years, according to Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), and only one-third of these actions have involved a capital spend. Reducing energy costs is a key priority for Irish business and where energy efficiency initiatives were implemented, most businesses have achieved average energy cost savings of 12%.

Businesses that have participated in the EPA’s Greenbusiness initiative in 2010 have identified almost Eur10 million worth of savings from an investment by the EPA of less than Eur1 million.

The count down has started to achieve Europe’s 20% energy efficiency target for 2020. If nothing changes in the coming years, the EU will achieve only half of the target.

A new set of measures for increased Energy Efficiency has recently been proposed by the European Commission to fill the gap and put the EU back on track. This proposal for this new directive brings forward measures to step up Member States’ efforts to use energy more efficiently at all stages of the energy chain – from the transformation of energy and its distribution to its final consumption.

“Our proposal aims at making the way we use energy in our daily life more efficient and at helping citizens, public authorities and the industry to better manage their energy consumption, which should also lead to a reduced energy bill. It also creates an important potential for new jobs throughout the EU,” says Gunther Oettinger, European Commissioner responsible for Energy.

In a nutshell, the Commission proposes simple but ambitious measures:

* Legal obligation to establish energy saving schemes in all Member States: energy distributors or retail energy sales companies will be obliged to save every year – 1.5 % of their energy sales, by volume, through the implementation of energy efficiency measures such as improving the efficiency of the heating system, installing double glazed windows or insulating roofs, among final energy customers. Alternatively, Member States have also the possibility to propose other energy savings mechanisms, for example, by funding programmes or voluntary agreements that lead to the same results but are not based on obligation on energy companies.

* Public sector to lead by example: public bodies will push for the market uptake of energy efficient products and services through a legal obligation to purchase energy efficient buildings, products and services. They will further have to progressively reduce the energy consumed on their own premises by carrying out every year the required renovation works covering at least 3% of their total floor area.

* Major energy savings for consumers: easy and free-of-charge access to data on real-time and historical energy consumption through more accurate individual metering will now empower consumers to better manage their energy consumption. Billing should be based on the actual consumption reflecting data from the metering.

* Industry: Incentives for SMEs to undergo energy audits and disseminate best practices while the large companies will have to make an audit of their energy consumption to help them identify the potential for reduced energy consumption.

* Efficiency in energy generation: monitoring of efficiency levels of new energy generation capacities, establishment of national heat and cooling plans as a basis for a sound planning of efficient heating and cooling infrastructures, including recovery of waste heat.

* Energy transmission and distribution: achieving efficiency gains by ensuring that national energy regulators take energy efficiency criteria into account in their decisions, in particular when approving network tariffs.