Dublin City Council Awards Energy Performance Contract to Upgrade its Sports Centres
Dublin City Council continues to lead by example in energy management with the awarding of a new Energy Performance Contract (EPC) to Noel Lawler Green Energy Solutions. The contract will save the Council up to €129,000 on its energy costs per annum and reduce carbon emissions by 321 tonnes.
The City Council, working closely with Codema – Dublin’s Energy Agency – and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), who provided financial and technical support, is the only local authority in Ireland to implement this EPC model, which delivers a performance guarantee, to upgrade the energy efficiency of its public buildings. The project will play an important role in achieving the climate and energy efficiency targets set out in Dublin City Council’s Climate Change Action Plan 2019 -2024 and it will act as an exemplar for other Public Bodies in this area.
Under the EPC project seven of the City Council’s sports centres will be upgraded, namely Ballyfermot Sports and Fitness Centre, St Catherine’s Community Sports Centre, Ballybough Community, Youth & Fitness Centre, Cabra Parkside Community Sports Centre, Poppintree Community Sports Centre, Irishtown Sports & Fitness Centre and Bluebell Community & Resource Centre.
The project will also achieve average energy savings of more than 35 per cent per year through a range of energy-efficiency upgrades. These include:
- New LED lighting
- New combined heat and power system to efficiently heat the swimming pool in Ballyfermot
- Improved building control systems for effective management of all equipment
- Renewable energy measures through the installation of solar photovoltaic panels
This project follows on from a very successful pilot EPC project, which involved the upgrading of three of the Council’s Sports and Fitness Centres in 2016. Since the works were carried out, energy savings of 42% have been achieved, offsetting over 700 tonnes of CO2.
Owen Keegan Chief Executive Dublin City Council, said: “I am delighted that the City Council is entering into an Energy Performance Contract, which will see the energy upgrade of seven of our sports facilities and contribute to achieving our energy and carbon reduction targets. I would like to thank Codema – Dublin’s Energy Agency, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment for their support and technical assistance. I would also like to congratulate Noel Lawler Green Energy Solutions on winning the contract.”
Daniel Ring, Managing Director, Noel Lawler Green Energy Solutions, said: “We applaud Dublin City Council and Codema in their use of this innovative Energy Performance Contract model. Being first to the market with this model required vision and commitment to deliver an improved energy upgrade and maintenance model which had to fit within public procurement guidelines. We would encourage public and private sectors alike to embrace this model as it has a proven track record that maximises environmental impact while simultaneously generating commercial savings.”
Joe Hayden, Senior Executive Engineer with Codema, added: “The EPC model is very successful and is well-established in countries such as Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, so it is great to see it getting a foothold in Ireland. EPC not only provides the Council with the security of guaranteed energy savings, it also saves on the cost of maintaining these upgrades over the lifetime of the contract.”
Jim Gannon, Chief Executive, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, said: “It is very encouraging to see public organisations like Dublin City Council using innovative delivery models to achieve significant energy savings. Efficiency and upgrade projects like these have helped the public sector to achieve €1 billion in energy savings in the last decade. Against the backdrop of the Government’s recent Climate Action Plan, energy performance contracting will be a key enabler for public bodies to achieve more challenging 2030 targets.”
The EPC contract involving the energy upgrade of seven of the Council’s sports and fitness centres will run for eight years and brings to ten the number of Council facilities managing their energy under an Energy Performance Contract. Works on this project are due to be completed by the end of 2019.
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Pictured (L–R): Owen Keegan, Chief Executive, Dublin City Council; Jim Gannon, Chief Executive, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI); Dr Gerry Wardell, Codema; and Daniel Ring, Managing Director of Noel Lawler Green Energy Solutions. Photo Chris Bellew/Fennells.
