Donegal County Council Activities
- Streetlighting
Streetlighting accounts for a significant proportion of the County Council electricity costs and our carbon footprint, therefore, renewable energy options are being considered. Solar power, hybrid systems, micro-hydro and wind turbines are being investigated as viable alternative energy sources. Low energy Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are also being investigated. This project is focusing on renewables for new lighting and renewables for existing lighting and a pilot project will soon be running in the County. ‘Stand alone’ renewables for future remote lighting is a means of reduced installation costs as digging, ducting and connection to the grid is not required. The consideration of small/large scale wind turbines to power existing lighting would be very beneficial for the Council as excess energy can be exported to the grid and the Council would get paid for this exported energy per kWh. There is great potential for a number of these turbines to be installed throughout the County considering the great local wind resources. A number of small turbines or 1 large turbine could cover all electricity provision for street lighting and provide excess energy generation.
- Renewables for Council Sites
Renewable technology is being considered for the Public Service Centres (PSCs) to generate the heat and electricity needs for each of the buildings. Total energy costs (heat & electric) are in the region of €300,00 per annum for all County Council offices. The energy bill is expected to rise significantly in 2009 due to a proposed 17.5% increase in electricity prices in January. Subject to receiving European funding, it is hoped that over the next 3-5 years that all the Public Service Centres will have alternative energies installed which will save energy, carbon emissions and money in the medium to long term. Technologies which are being considered include, solar pv, solar water heating, biomass heating, hydro energy, wind and geothermal.
- Public Service Centre Lighting
A significant amount is spent every year on lighting the large Public Service Centre buildings. By replacing the existing lighting with lower energy lighting and sensor-activated lighting, this could save a significant proportion on the annual energy bill. A lighting survey for each Public Service Centre, recently completed, shows that a change to low energy lighting will reduce the energy consumption by up to 40%.
- Renewables for Water Services
Water treatment plants, waste-water treatment plants and water & sewerage pumping stations make up the greatest proportion of the Council energy bill, therefore, concentrating on the water services area will deliver significant energy savings over the coming years. Micro hydro and wind energy are suitable alternatives for generating power for these sites and these options are being considered for the highest energy consuming sites. Micro-hydro water turbines have developed significantly in recent years and a number of designs are available to suit different types of applications. There has been a number of recent installations in Ireland including Dublin Roundwood water works and treatment plants in Kerry and Cork. Wind Turbines are also ideal options for pumping stations and treatment plants and so are also being considered for a number of sites in the County.
In 2009 it is anticipated that a pilot project will see the installation of one of these technologies which will provide sufficient energy to power a site completely with excess being sold to the national grid.
Case Study Roundwood Waterworks, Dublin
Dublin City Council Installed a 90kW Kaplan hydro unit at Roundwood Waterworks. It produces energy from the water dropping from the reservoir to the treatment tanks and provides all the energy required at the plant with excess being sold to the grid. Design work for the project started in 204, the unit was ordered in 2006 and the unit was installed over a 6 month period in 2007 with completion in November. The energy required on site is 35kW with an average production of 75kW from the turbine. The total cost of works was 540,000 ex VAT. The estimated annual saving is 38,000 and the income generated is 24,000. The expected payback period is around 10 years.
Cost of works ex VAT are as follows:
| Kaplan Turbine: |
185,000 |
| ESB Connection |
40,000 |
| Intake pipe & valves |
35,000 |
| Power house discharge |
167,500 |
| Miscellaneous |
30,000 |
| Design Supervision |
83,000 |
| Total Costs: |
540,500 |
| SEI Grant |
107,500 |
| Estimated annual O&M |
4,000 |
-
Biodiesel Pilot
A pilot project to use biodiesel in 4-6 council vehicles has been established and trials will begin shortly on a small number of vehicles. Eco-ola is to supply the biodiesel and 100% biodiesel will be used. A 75% reduction in CO2 emissions is expected along with a significant reduction in particulate matter and NOx. It is anticipated that more vehicles will then be converted to using biodiesel either in a 5% or 20% blend or 100% biodiesel, depending on suitability of the vehicle to try and meet government targets as outlined in the National Climate Change Strategy. Other biofuels will also be investigated such as ethanol and pure plant oil.
-
Micro-Hydro
There is great scope for the development of micro-hydro in Co. Donegal considering the abundance of streams and rivers County-wide. With a suitable climate and ideal topography, these attributes provide an ideal basis for installation of this technology.
-
Staff Energy Awareness Display® Campaign
The European Display® Campaign is a voluntary scheme designed by energy experts from 20 European towns and cities. It is aimed at encouraging local authorities to publicly display the energy and environmental performances of their public buildings using the same energy label that is used for household appliances. This campaign was established in 2004 and has 336 participating cities/ regions with over 9275 buildings displaying their energy rating. The Display® Campaign has been recently introduced to the Donegal Town Public Service centre and will soon be rolled out to all area offices. The aim of this campaign is to engage both staff and the public in energy awareness. The display details the impacts of energy use, energy waste and associated environmental impacts of carbon emissions. The Display® Campaign displays the energy rating, CO2 rating and water rating of the building with an overall aim of improving the energy rating ‘towards class A’ over the coming years. Energy Champions for the various buildings are being selected to assist with ongoing energy awareness efforts.
All public sector bodies can participate in the Display® Campaign and display their
building energy rating. This is very suited to schools as apart of an education programme for the pupils.
Please see the Display® for each of the area offices.
- Donegal Town
- Carndonagh
- Letterkenny
- Milford
- Dungloe
For further information on the Display® Campaign, please visit
www.display-campaign.org .
If you would like to participate, please contact the Energy Development Officer at Donegal County Council who will be able to register your building.
-
County Council Energy Steering Group
A Cross-directorate Energy steering group has been established and will ensure that energy efficiency and renewable energy is considered and delivered throughout the County Council services both internally and externally and will facilitate the implementation of energy related programmes and policies. The Energy Steering group is currently working on a Sustainable Energy Action Plan.
-
Funding
Securing funding is essential in order to develop sustainable energy. Various funding options have been investigated and submissions have been made to EU programmes to support specific renewable energy projects at a local level.
-
Donegal County Council Carbon Footprint
Donegal County Council has a large carbon footprint due to the high energy consumption of the various sites and facilities operated by the Council. Over 15 million kWh of electricity are used every year to power the sites and facilities, and over 4.4 million kWh is used to power public lighting. In terms of carbon emissions, this means that the Council emits in excess of 12,000 tonnes CO2/a, based on the electricity consumption alone! Donegal County Council is committed to reducing carbon emissions year on year to help reach a 20% reduction on 2005 levels by 2020. The total carbon footprint is based on total fuel & electricity consumption for all council sites and the vehicle fleet.
Donegal County Council Carbon Footprint
| Oil Heating |
334,894kgCO2/a |
334,894TonnesCO2/a |
| Electricity |
9,444,836kgCO2/a |
9,444.84TonnesCO2/a |
| Vehicle Fuel |
1,833,825kgCO2/a |
1,833.825TonnesCO2/a |
| Street lighting |
2,67,376kgCO2/a |
2,677.376TonnesCO2/a |
| Total |
14,290,931kgCO2/a |
14,290.93 TonnesCO2/a |
County Development Board Activities
- Energy Efficiency Guide
A guide ‘Energy Saving Tips’ was produced to promote energy awareness and renewable energy to householders.
- Information Guide (Non Food use of Land)
An information guide ‘A basic Information Guide to the Non Food use of Land in the North West of Ireland’ was produced to increase awareness and uptake of renewables, increase knowledge in the non food use of land and provide information on how to diversify into this area.
- Forest Link
The Forest Link project was established to help develop biomass resources in the County and promote uptake of biomass boiler installations to reduce reliance on fossil fuel. The Forest Link project was instrumental in assisting a number of hotels in the County to convert to using biomass instead of fossil fuel, resulting in financial savings of up to 50% on their annual heating bill. The Forest Link Officer works with a number of organizations to encourage sustainable forestry growth, with the overall objective of achieving security of supply of biomass resources.
- Energy Audit of Public & Community Buildings
An Energy audit was conducted on a range of buildings including community centres, schools, hospitals and hotels. The audit gathered useful information on fuel use and type along with details of the buildings such as building size, fabric and age. The audit indicated that savings could be made on all of the buildings and that the hotels were the largest energy users. It was concluded that significant savings could be made on the annual fuel bill through the installation of biomass heating and a range of energy efficiency measures.
- Wave/Tidal Energy
The Donegal coastline is currently being assessed for wave climate to determine what the energy potential is. Results so far indicate that there is sufficient energy available to harness, to make a commercial scale project feasible. Once a number of surveys and assessments have been completed and suitable locations identified, developers will be invited to test proptotypes or install commercial scale technology to harness this ‘green’ energy resource and export to the national grid. A Wave/Tidal Energy working group has been established to help progress wave & tidal energy development.
- Energy Forum
The establishment of a Donegal Energy Forum is essential to progress Energy Conservation Development in the County. Key organisations have been approached with regards to supporting this forum and most organisations are keen to support it.
- Private/Public/Commercial Awareness Raising
A public energy awareness campaign will be planned to increase awareness on energy efficiency and renewable energies and promote sustainable energy within the private and commercial sectors. Presentations and information seminars have already been held to promote sustainable energies in recent months.
- Schools Education & Awareness Programme
A schools education and awareness programme will be developed to ensure that young people are aware of the issues associated with burning fossil fuels and wasting energy. It is important that young people understand the implications as it will be their responsibility in the future to address the issues of security of supply, global warming and climate change.
- Energy Eco-Centre
Funding is being sought to develop an education centre in the County for energy conservation which would display all up to date small-scale technologies along with relevant information. The centre would act as an education/training centre for the general public and pupils around the County.
- Fuel Poverty Community Initiative
With ever increasing fuel prices and more householders slipping into fuel poverty it was necessary that the Council assist in addressing this issue. This project is a joint initiative between the Community & Enterprise Directorate and the Social Inclusion Group to focus on combating fuel poverty in County Donegal. Activities include: Creating a Fuel Poverty Information Pack, Energy Efficiency Training for key agencies who have contact with householders and the rolling out of the Warmer Homes Scheme funded by Sustainable Energy Ireland.
- Climate Change Strategy
A Climate Change Strategy will be drawn up in 2009 which will focus specifically on reducing carbon emissions County-wide. The Strategy will reflect targets and objectives outlined in the National Climate Change Strategy and will steer all sectors towards sustainable energy practices.