Lead: Luke Saunders
The Sustainable Energies Committee aims to enable Strandhill to become a community whose residents and business owners are more efficient in their use of energy.
The Committee aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the energy use of buildings in the region, inform the community of the economical energy-efficient choices available, take steps to increase the biodiversity and planting vegetation to sequester carbon, collaborate with the SEC Network and the SEAI to provide feedback, share knowledge and contribute to the national movement of Sustainable Energy Communities
Be part of Strandhill’s Energy Master Plan!
Strandhill SEC (Sustainable Energy Community) was set up as a sub-group of the Strandhill Community Development Association with the goal to make members of our community more aware about ways they can lower their carbon footprint. As part of a wider network of over 500 SECs in Ireland, Strandhill SEC with support from the SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) will complete an Energy Master Plan (EMP) to help us to make more informed decisions about how our community can become more energy efficient.
The purpose of this survey is to gather information from residents in order to establish a baseline of the current energy use patterns in the community. The survey will help identify what type of information we need in the EMP to help plan community energy projects.
The survey is anonymous but if you would like your home/apartment to be considered for a free energy audit as part of the Energy Master Plan then please provide your contact details in Section 6. If you do not want an energy audit but would like to receive more information from Strandhill SEC about the project then please provide your email address only.
Our Vision…
To become a community whose residents and business owners are more efficient in their use of energy.
We will do this by…
Increasing the community’s awareness of climate change and informing them of what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint.
We will provide a focal point to support homes and businesses in becoming more energy efficient.
We will work together…
With all community stakeholders including Strandhill Community Development Association (SCDA), homes, schools, tidy towns and local businesses to drive towards a more sustainable future by becoming more energy efficient.
We commit to
- Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the energy use of buildings in the region
- Informing the community of the economical energy-efficient choices available
- Taking steps to increase the biodiversity and planting vegetation to sequester carbon.
- Supporting homeowners, community groups, schools and businesses to reduce energy costs
- Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels through energy management and renewable energy
- Determining a work plan to reach our vision
- Collaborating with the SEC Network and the SEAI to provide feedback, share knowledge and contribute to the national movement of Sustainable Energy Communities
2020 Activities (Updated October 2020)
- Through the SEC sub-committee of SCDA Strandhill has now been recognised as one of Ireland’s Sustainable Energy Communities by SEAI.
- We recently applied successfully for a grant of €15,000 from SEAI to complete an Energy Master Plan (EMP) of our locality with the aim of encouraging homes and businesses to avail of energy upgrade grants.
- The EMP will see an energy consultant do an analysis of several representative buildings in the village (eg. a residential dwelling, an office, a community space) and follow up with a report on how these building’s would benefit from availing of energy efficiency measures and grants.
- The €15,000 funding needs to be paid upfront and is reimbursed by SEAI.
- The SCDA committee had reservations about sourcing funds to pay for the EMP. A solution has been found whereby Sligo CoCo have agreed to support the scheme by providing cash flow for the scheme. More details on the exact plan for the EMP will be made available in the coming weeks.