Copy
SEC Network Newsletter     Issue No.4
View this email in your browser

Hello again!

 
Welcome to the second SEC Newsletter of 2017. As you know the aim of this newsletter is to provide an opportunity for everyone to share ideas, updates, news and tips with each other, as well as for SEAI to provide you with updates and supports along your journey.
 
The Network continues to grow apace and so far this year and there are currently 88 Network members. We are delighted to announce that the Mid-Louth SEC recently became our first SEC to enter into a partnership agreement – see the news feature below. We are also working with others who are ready to engage in the Partnership Programme and look forward to welcoming more partners very soon.
 
 The Energy Show in April was a huge success and it was great to be able to meet so many of you at both the Dublin regional meeting and one-to-one on the stand.  Feedback from both regional meetings and one-to-one conversations has been very constructive in informing the development of the programme. Currently we are working on finding the solutions to the main issues people are experiencing, and a separate email will be circulated on this soon. 

 

News

  • Congratulations to Seamus Dunbar of the North Leitrim SEC who has won this year’s ‘Get involved’ Energy Champion award, and a prize of €3,000. Seamus is the Chairperson of NLSEC group who are working to make people aware of the amount of energy they use on a daily basis in the North Leitrim area and to reduce their carbon footprint. The group have established important links both in the border region and nationally. They have also established a Community Charter and will soon be incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee as part of their commitment to the three year SEC partnership programme. Click here for more information from the Leitrim Observer on the award.
     
Seamus Dunbar receiving his ‘Get involved’ Energy Champion award
 
  • First partnership signed! We are proud to announce that Mid-Louth SEC and SEAI have signed the first partnership of the network. SEAI CEO Jim Gannon was on hand to co-sign the partnership in Dunleer on 30th May. Mid-Louth’s vision is “to become leaders in our community and beyond, through programmes of education and implementation delivering energy efficiency and increasing the use of sources of renewable energy”. Mid-Louth are planning to use the partnership funding to get help with a desk study investigation of the locality, fieldwork and on-site energy audits. This is the first of many partnerships being submitted and the next stage in the programme is now well underway. 
SEAI CEO Jim Gannon signing the Mid-Louth SEC Partnership Agreement
 
  • Potential Funding! The Social Innovation Fund recently announced that a €220,000 fund has been made available for innovative early stage projects that addresses health or social issues in Ireland. Many SECs may be eligible for this due to the potential social and health benefits of upgrading residential and community buildings in their area. CEO Deirdre Mortell has encouraged SECs to consider applying to the fund for consideration. The information is available here. Eleven awardees will receive a cash award as well as non-financial supports such as access to expert mentoring and assistance with growth planning from a business consultant.
  • Following the recent appointment of Kate Ruddock to the board of SEAI, we have a new mentor for the Dublin region. Mel Gavin (Gavin.Mel@itsligo.ie) from IT Sligo with local contact Gavin Forkan (gavin.forkan@planenergy.co.uk) will now mentor the Dublin SECs. We would like to thank Kate for all her work to date as an SEC mentor and we wish her well in her new role.
Important Dates

9th June SEAI Energy Awards—final call to enter your Community Projects!
The Community category is aimed at public, private and voluntary organisations who are engaged in sustainable energy initiatives at a local level. This award recognises partnerships, groups and organisations delivering energy savings and socio-economic benefits in their community.  Projects or programmes might include energy efficiency retrofit, renewable energy upgrades or behavioural change initiatives.
This year the online application process has been made much easier. In response to feedback you can now start an application and save your entry to return to later. The number of questions and the details required have also been simplified. Click here for SEAI’s top tips to creating a winning entry and to get more information on last year’s winners. 


The West Regional SEC meeting is taking place GMIT, Castlebar on 15th June from 6-8:30pm. Energy Co-ops Ireland will be presenting how the programme is expected to progress from Partnership Agreement up to the Energy Masterplan including getting advice from the technical panels. During the event they will be holding a brief one-to-one to track progress and to discuss directly how the mentors can help you engage with the programme in order to maximize the benefits for your community. Please contact Cormac.walsh@energyco-ops.ie if you wish to attend.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Tour in Erris, Co Mayo
As part of the Erris SEC programme and timed with the EU Sustainable Energy Week,
Udaras Na Gaeltachta through Dr Orla Nic Suibhne is organising a free tour of existing community energy projects near Belmullet. The tour will take place on June 14th from 10am until 3pm. The agenda includes a visit to the Udaras na Gaeltachta Enterprise Centre in Each Leim to see a demonstration microgrid; site visits to the proposed SEAI wave energy test site and to the 11 kW Photovoltaic array at the Irish Wheelchair Association center; lunch at Teach Greannai and to see the Meals on Wheels electric van and 7 kW PV array; and finally, a visit to Bangor Hall which is a community hall retrofit. Bus and lunch will be provided and the tour will start and finish at the Erris Civic Centre. To register, please contact Orla at o.nicsuibhne@udaras.ie or call 086-3625057. A full agenda is available at http://eusew.eu/energy-days/.

Fully accessible 11kW PV array at the Irish Wheelchair Association in Belmullet

 

Spotlights

Donegal SEC LAN Teo held their 1st Energy Clinic on 22nd May for small businesses in Gortahork, Co. Donegal.

Eithne Nic Lochlainn and her team distributed flyers to local businesses and community organisations, and arranged half hour one-to-one reviews with the SEC Mentor. The attendees were invited to bring along their energy bills and meet individually with the SEC Mentor to review their energy use and get advice on how best to move toward greater energy efficiency for their organisation. 


Eithne Nic Lochlainn and Peter Byrne, owner of the Cove Restaurant

They met with nine local organisations including community support companies, restaurants, hotels, bars and retail outlets, and the one-to-one reviews included:
  • Finding avoidable penalty charges in electricity bills
  • Comparing electricity unit rates to get the best price from your supplier
  • Energy monitoring devices for electricity and oil
  • Available business supports from SEAI and EPA
  • Advice on appropriate efficiency measures
 
The day was an excellent example of the SEC team leading the way in their community.  All of the attendees are keen to be part of the Energy Master Plan and the LAN Teo team are planning further clinics and information events for June and September. 

Whats next?

  1. Feedback on the one-to-one meetings with Gillian will be circulated to all Communities after the national mentors meeting on 14th June.
  2. We will be looking to work with communities to pilot some of the ideas and material in the coming months.
  3. We are working to approve more Partnership funding applications in June and July.
  4. More one-to-ones– anyone who would like to meet Gillian please contact her  directly (Gillian.gannon@seai.ie/ 01 8082098) or let your Mentor know.
  5. Planning for our SEC Network national event (September/October) – please tell us what you would like from this event with ideas for possible locations and what you would like to see on the agenda. If you haven’t done so already, take a few moments to complete our survey here  – it will only take 5 minutes and all comments are welcome.  

In the meantime, help us create the next SEAI SEC Network Newsletter – due out in August 2017.

We would love your input in creating the newsletters – so do send us on any upcoming events, interesting news items, lessons learned and more so that we can include them and share them with the network. 

Please send us your article ideas, questions for ‘Ask SEAI’, relevant upcoming events, links, or news about your SEC, to sec@seai.ie.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!



Our mailing address is:
sec@seai.ie

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

 






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland · Wilton Park House · Wilton Place · Dublin, Dublin 2 · Ireland

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp