Westmeath Community Development

 While individuals have opportunity to make energy efficiency improvements and adopt renewable energy solutions in their our own homes and businesses, approaching these issues on a community scale can have additional social and financial benefits.

Energy and environmental building specialist Patrick Daly, presents some thought provoking ideas on how communities can take positive action to reduce their energy use and see renewable energy solutions in their locality.

Tackling the issue of energy efficiency and renewable energy on a community scale can have important impacts in terms of awareness, education and behaviour and also create opportunities for local investment. The following represent some ideas for action at local level.

Form a local sustainable / energy awareness group

This group could seek to deliver advise and raise awareness on issues relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy to the local community. For example it could undertake ‘Power of One’ energy efficiency training at community level to promote more efficient use of energy in homes and schools. See www.sei.ie/power_of_one

Community scale home energy improvements.

Many individuals are currently taking advantage of SEI grants to support home energy efficiency improvements and use of renewable energy such as solar hot water for their homes.  Approaching this on a community scale however could lead to significant benefits and savings.  For example consider 12 to 25 local families undertaking this as a joint venture. The could engage specialist advise for best measures to undertake for their home, then draft a combined tender for contractors to price, which would allow bulk order of materials and reduce labour costs due to scale and volume of work, with savings for all in the group.

Local energy efficiency and renewable team

Taking the above further the community itself could establish or engage a local team of tradesmen to undertake insulation, replacing boilers, installing SHW and thus increase local employment, develop new skills and build the local economy. This could even be done in the form of a local co-operative.

Local Community Renewable Energy Company

The local community itself could take the initiative and form its own commercial organisation to research, explore and develop a locally owned renewable energy company that would offer direct renewable energy or  investment return to the community itself. Numerous examples of such groups already exist across the EU and could be developed here.

In a rural context opportunities for local renewable energy generation could be explored in the following areas.

• BioEnergy       wood or wood wastes as a biomass fuel, biogas produced from waste material, or use of energy crops for producing alternative biofuels.
• Hydro:              generation of electricity from streams or rivers etc.
• Wind:               generation of electricity from wind.

A range of alternative structures could be considered to exploit these opportunities such as an investment club, co-operative or company, which again will mean that energy use and financial return promote the local economy and create local jobs.

Examples of these technologies exist across Ireland but there are fewer community owned projects. No doubt there are challenges and difficulties to overcome but others have shown it can be achieved and why not here in the Midlands if communities are willing to work together with the right support from agencies and government.

Patrick Daly is currently working for Westmeath Community Development on the development of its renewable energy strategy Public meetings will be held at 8pm in the following venues:

November 25^th  in Irish Rural Link, Clara Road, Moate,

November 26^th at Emper school, Ballynacargy

At these meetings information will be provided to the general public/ business sector on renewable energy. These meetings will also provide rural communities with an opportunity to give their views and opinions on renewable energy and allow Westmeath Community Development to use this information  to influence its future actions.