The Sustainable Energy Programme

View a presentation below :  Sustainable Energy Communities

What is a Sustainable Energy Community & Who is eligible?

A community can be defined as anything from a small village to a large town, sports clubs, business groups, community groups etc. The common goal within the community would be to support sustainability within the community.

What kind of projects might a SEC place on their action plan?

Any building (housing, business, voluntary etc) within your community are eligible to participate in the SEC. The key requirement is for that community to demonstrate that they can work as a community to participate in this programme. For example a community could be made up of primary & secondary school, SME, community hall, church, public house/hotel, B&B, church, private homes (fuel poor and non-fuel poor) and social and voluntary houses.

Types of technology that Communities can use when acting as a Sustainable Energy Community?

Heating Upgrades: energy efficient condensing oil/gas boilers, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, biomass heating systems all combined with heating controls.
Building Fabric Upgrades: Cavity Wall insulation, external wall insulation, attic insulation, windows and door replacement, airtightness to achieve A+ rated homes.
Operational Efficiency- Commercial SME / Industrial. : All energy efficient actions around training, process optimisation, energy use reduction etc.
Renewable Energy: Hydro Power, Solar Thermal (generating hot water), Solar Photovoltaics (generating electricity), wind power and heat pumps.
Types of groups becoming sustainable energy communities
• Tidy Towns Groups
• Community group water schemes
• Island Groups
• Community Groups –Cooperatives, Sports Clubs, Schools
• Business Networks
• Local Authorities

Example of community energy projects:

Example 1: Housing – Deep Retrofit – external insulation, window replacement, energy efficient gas condensing boiler and controls, wood burning stove.
Example 2: O’Loughlin Gaels GAA Kilkenny: 3 year energy efficiency upgrade.
Year 1: Energy Audit identifying energy savings
Year 2: Wall insulation, roof insulation, energy efficient gas boiler, window replacement from single glazed to double glazed and solar panels.
Year 3: controls on refrigeration, lighting upgrade from old inefficient lighting to energy efficient LED in the car park

Example 3: SME – O’Shea Farm Piltown County Kilkenny – Installation of solar photovoltaic panels to generate their own electricity 210,000kWh per year which accounts for 11% of their total usage. They also reduced their electricity demand by installing energy efficient lighting and refrigeration.