Tag: renewables

SSE Renewables donates €1.1 million to almost 400 Irish community groups

SSE Renewables, Ireland’s leading developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy has donated over €1 million to almost 400 local charities and community groups across Ireland in the last year, once again demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to supporting the economic and social wellbeing of those local communities which host its wind farms. 

The contribution is revealed in SSE Renewables’ 2022/23 Community Investment Review for Ireland, which has been published today. 

In total SSE Renewables has invested €1.1 million this year from its wind farms into 382 community-based projects across the country. The funding generated for the SSE Renewables Community Fund comes from revenues earned by its wind farms across Ireland, including the Galway Wind Park Community Fund, which is Ireland’s largest community benefit fund. This year’s €1.1 million investment contribution is one of the largest-ever annual investments made by SSE Renewables into local communities from its wind farms. 

SSE Renewables’ funding helps support local groups, sports organisations and schools among others in rural Irish communities to develop their facilities with energy efficiency and sustainability upgrades as well as social and environmental projects that enable community development. 

The SSE Renewables’ 2022/23 Community Investment Review marks 20 years of wind powered funding by the company into Irish communities. Since it first launched its Community Fund programme in 2003, SSE Renewables has invested over €11.4 million into almost 4,500 community-based projects located closest to its wind farms. This funding is awarded to community groups near wind farms located in Cork, Cavan, Donegal, Wexford, Monaghan, Sligo, Limerick, Kerry, Tipperary and Galway. 

Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director of SSE Renewables said: “With the climate emergency and energy security at the top of the agenda, we’re proud at SSE Renewables to be playing our part in helping Ireland’s transition to renewable power. In the last year we’ve continued to produce huge amounts from our onshore wind farms across Ireland, while progressing the next wave of industry leading projects, both onshore and offshore. 

“We recognise that an integral part of a just transition is sharing value with the local communities in which we operate. We’re committed to investing to ensure Irish communities have what they need now and for the future. That’s why in the last year SSE Renewables has donated over €1 million to local projects to invest in issues as diverse as inclusive sport to biodiversity centres. In doing so, we’re aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring the investments we make into local communities help deliver affordable and clean energy, take climate action to reduce emissions, and support the creation of sustainable cities and communities. 

“As we build more renewable assets across Ireland, we’re ensuring the country benefits from local, clean, resilient energy with a commitment to local supply chains to boost our economy. As part of this commitment, we’ll collaborate with communities to help them achieve their ambitions and support thriving, robust and prosperous communities across Ireland.” 

In addition to providing funding support to local groups and organisations, this year’s Community Investment Review details the education funding support SSE Renewables is providing to young people from its ongoing scholarship programme. In the last year, the Galway Wind Park Scholarship Fund has provided just over €50,000 in scholarships for 16 young students who live near Ireland’s largest wind farm and wish to attend their third level college courses of choice. This brings the total number of young scholars supported financially by the Galway Wind Park Scholarship since it was launched in 2019 to just over 80. 

Alongside funding contributions across local communities, 2022/23 has been a year of growth and development for SSE Renewables’ Community Funds. In County Donegal the company worked with development partner FuturEnergy Ireland to undertake an extensive community consultation with local representatives and community members in the design and key priorities of a new community fund for the Lenalea Wind Farm, which is due to open next year. 

This year also saw a significant increase in applications from communities across Ireland looking for measures and projects designed to support the delivery of low carbon infrastructure in rural areas, and so support a greener future and tackle the climate emergency. 

In County Galway, €110,000 was presented to Comhairle Ceantar na nOileán from Galway Wind Park to establish the Low Carbon and Sustainability Centre of Excellence in Casla. The centre is creating new sustainable economic opportunities to support the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the region by supporting the re-skilling of workers and supporting homeowners to complete retrofit improvements. The centre is providing skills training in emerging retrofit technologies including solar PV, external wall insulation and ventilation. The project plans to train 280 professionals per annum and support the energy improvement of up to 10,000 local homes. 

Patrick McHugh, Director of Comhairle Ceantar na nOileán, said: “In Galway, the waiting list for energy efficient home upgrades is nearly two years. Through the development of this training centre in Galway, timeframes for upgrades will be reduced with the project having the potential to impact over 30,000 individuals and in excess of 10,000 homes, so contributing towards Ireland’s net zero goal.” 

In the community of Bunnoe, County Cavan, where the next nearest publicly available electric vehicle (EV) charging point is over 10km away, SSE Renewables’ funding totalling €2,500 has supported the installation of a first-ever EV charger at the Bunnoe Community Enterprise Centre. Visitors to the community centre, GAA club and football club can now charge their electric vehicles while visiting the local amenities. 

Patsy Fitzpatrick, Volunteer at Bunnoe Community Enterprise Centre, said: “In a rural area like Bunnoe, people have to travel at least 10km to access an EV charging point. The provision of this charger has improved efficiency and reduced cost for our locals, it has attracted people to the area to avail of the charger and use other resources whilst waiting, and most importantly it demonstrates our commitment and support towards achieving net zero.” 

SSE Renewables will continue to support Ireland’s green recovery and it hopes to continue the same level of successful support to communities in the coming year. In the coming year it will continue public consultation on the design and priorities for a community fund for Yellow River Wind Farm in Rhode, County Offaly, which it is currently constructing. 

In the offshore wind energy space, SSE Renewables is continuing to develop plans for Ireland’s 2030 offshore targets, including delivery of its flagship Irish offshore wind project, the 800MW Arklow Bank Wind Park II which is expected to generate a community benefit fund of around €6m annually should it become operational before the end of the decade. 

You can read the SSE Renewables 2022/23 Community Investment Review here.

Failure to facilitate hybrid connections creating needless barrier to renewables in Ireland

Ireland’s failure to implement policies that facilitate so-called hybrid connections places unnecessary costs and delays on renewable providers. This warning comes from the Irish Solar Energy Association (ISEA) who want new policies to be expedited so they are implemented as soon as possible to help achieve the ambitious targets of the latest Climate Action Plan.

A hybrid connection is where more than one source of energy or storage is connected to the national grid on a single site. These are currently not permitted in Ireland, meaning that in sites where solar and storage or solar and wind are present together, there is a need for two separate connections. Each grid connection requires the construction of physical infrastructure with the associated costs, planning requirements and time.

While consultations are taking place in regard to increasing the over install limit of connection capacities and an additional consultation is expected to take place in regards to multiple legal entities behind connection points, there is a third, and more important topic, the dynamic sharing of MECs, that needs to be addressed urgently if we are to capitalise on the benefits of updating these policies for consumers and renewable providers.

Speaking about the need for new policies in this area ISEA CEO Conall Bolger said “We have been talking about hybrid sites for nearly a decade, with no output evident aside from on-going consultation processes. We have examples of locations that have two buildings side by side performing duplicate functions. This is extremely wasteful, increases the cost to energy providers and ultimately to consumers.

“There has been a general recognition amongst policymakers that change is required for several years.” But according to Bolger there has been very little action. “The 2019 Climate Action Plan committed to putting the right policies in place by Q3 2020. The latest iteration of Climate Action Plan now makes that same commitment but for Q4 2023. Despite an unexplained 39-month delay, the industry isn’t overly confident that we will see much movement this year.”

ISEA now want the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) to make a decision. “It feels as if the regulator isn’t focused on the big picture in relation to what needs to be done to expedite the updating of these dated policies with their lack of attention on the dynamic sharing of the maximum export capacity (MEC) by technologies behind the same connection an example of this. If adopted, this will allow for greater flexibility and variety in what can be achieved at hybrid connection points. We need to radically accelerate our deployment of renewables and hybrid connections will help keep costs for consumers lower and ensure faster implementation.

“If we were to place a solar farm on every renewable site already connected to the grid, we could ramp up our delivery of green power while minimising the construction of new network. Everyone knows what is required, so let us put that in place now, and not wait until the end of the year.”

Concluding Conall Bolger, CEO of ISEA said “We are in a climate crisis, everyone agrees that renewables are one of the most important solutions. We need the triumvirate of solar, storage and wind working together to combat Ireland’s reliance on fossil fuels. Allowing hybrid connections facilitates this in an efficient manner.”

Solar Power: What is it and How Does it Work?

We’ve all heard of solar power before but how many of us actually know what it is and how it works? Probably not quite as many of us. I mean, most of us know the basics: solar technology generates energy from the sun that we can then use as power. But let’s dig a little deeper into the subject…

Brief History

It could be argued that solar energy has been used by our ancestors for centuries, starting way back in the BC days. Remember when they’d use the sun to bring fire to life with magnifying materials? That’s what we mean. However, solar energy that we know today, collected via silicon panels, was brought to life in the 1950s. Since then, the urgency for humans to choose renewable energy over fossil fuels has accelerated massively, as many countries are aiming to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by the year of 2050. 

Therefore, solar technology has come on leaps and bounds in the past few decades, with the mounting pressure of climate change and environmental issues at new highs. People are starting to wake up to the need for change, and can now see the multitude of benefits to solar energy – it’s typically much better for the planet as well as the people, animals, and plants on it. Solar PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) are something that have made renewable energy all the more accessible in recent times – wondering ‘what is PPA?” Click the link to find out. Now, using a premier solar company is more affordable and cost-effective long term than it ever was before, for the individual as well as businesses.

How Does Solar Power Work?

Solar power is generated by energy from sunlight being absorbed by photovoltaic (PV) technology. Electricity can then flow through cells producing a current. This works as solar cells have a semiconductor within them made from silicon – when sunlight hits this, an electric field is created through one of the two silicon layers becoming positively charged, the other negatively. Electrons become loose and subsequently create power that can be converted into electricity for us to make the most of. In addition to efficiency advancements, the physical design and durability of solar panels have significantly improved, allowing them to better withstand environmental factors such as inclement weather and temperature fluctuations. This has been pivotal in their widespread adoption in various climates and regions around the world.

Will All Countries Make the Switch to Solar?

As it stands, many affluent countries are trying to encourage and increase the usage of not just solar power, but renewable energy in general. However, Ireland is experiencing a slow transition to renewable energy for a number of reasons, including a lack of confidence in the implementation efficiency and affordability in current times. However, plenty of countries are going full steam ahead, with China the country that produces the most solar energy out of any other country in the world – which is relatively good news, as they’re the country with the highest carbon footprint and population. China is followed by the EU and the United States. Cost and infrastructure can be something that holds many nations back when it comes to solar, but as it becomes more affordable and commonly found over time, we are likely to see a large shift.

 

European Investment Bank to strengthen support for climate, connectivity, renewables, education and innovation across Ireland

The European Investment Bank is expected to strengthen backing for climate action, clean transport, renewable energy, healthcare, education, agriculture and business in Ireland, in addition to enhancing support to sectors such as energy efficiency and peatland’s rehabilitation, following the meeting of the Ireland-EIB Financing Group held at Department of Finance today.

“The European Investment Bank is a key partner to ensure that Ireland benefits from high-impact investment that unlocks opportunities, improves services and delivers a more sustainable future. It is a pleasure to welcome Vice President Kettel Thomsen and his colleagues back to Dublin for today’s meeting of the Ireland-EIB Financing Group. Discussions between Ministerial colleagues and the EIB will ensure that the EIB’s unique financial strength and technical expertise can accelerate transformational investment across the country and build on the EUR 1 billion of EIB and EIF financing for Irish investment delivered last year. Yesterday’s agreements for EUR 200 million new EIB support for capital investment in 30 schools and advisory support to cut energy bills in schools across the country shows the unique impact of the EIB in this country.”

said Paschal Donohoe T.D., Irish Finance Minister and Governor of the European Investment Bank.

“The EIB-Ireland Financing Group ensures that the EIB can back crucial investment that drives business growth, tackles infrastructure needs and delivers climate action. This week’s visit builds on the EIB Group’s enhanced recent engagement to respond to challenges related to Brexit and COVID-19. Today’s discussions with Ministers from across government will ensure that no opportunities are lost to overcome current challenges and unlock transformational new investment.”

said Christian Kettel-Thomsen, Vice President of the European Investment Bank.

The meeting of the EIB-Ireland Financing Group included the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath T.D., Minister for Environment, Climateand Communications and Transport Eamon Ryan T.D., Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien T.D. and Minister of State for Agriculture, Land Use and Biodiversity, Senator Pippa Hackett.

Officials from across government and the EIB’s team dealing with Ireland also participated.

Over the course of this year the EIB expects to confirm around EUR 1 billion of new financing for projects across Ireland, including energy efficiency, increasing renewable energy generation and electricity interconnection, SME’s and farmers, innovation, improving university facilities and construction of new social housing.

The EIB-Ireland Financing Group was established in December 2016, alongside the opening of the EIB’s first permanent office in Ireland, to strengthen cooperation between the European Investment Bank and Irish government departments and stakeholders.

The European Investment Bank is Europe’s long-term lending institution and owned directly by the 27 EU member states and the world’s largest international public bank.

Over the last decade the EIB has provided more than EUR 8 billion for long-term investment across Ireland, including education, energy, transport, social housing healthcare, agriculture and water projects, as well as investment by small business and corporate research and development.