Industry & Business

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) recently announced the winners of its Sustainable Energy Awards at a gala event which saw Dairygold, Astellas Ireland and M50 Concession Ltd receive awards. The Awards recognise excellence in energy management in businesses, communities and public sector organisations.

Astellas Ireland, a pharmaceutical company manufacturing a range of health treatments which are distributed globally from their plant in Kerry, won the Large Business Energy Project Award, sponsored by Gas Networks Ireland. Astellas has applied the Energy Efficient Design Standard IS399 approach, which considers energy from the start of new investment projects minimising energy consumption through their lifecycle. It has applied the standard to three projects to date; a canteen expansion, a compressed air upgrade and a chiller plant upgrade. Collectively, these projects have delivered annual energy savings of 1.7GWh and €135,000 cost savings. A further 6 projects are currently underway.

Jim Gannon, Chief Executive of SEAI, commented: “The SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards are all about showcasing the excellent work that is happening around the country as businesses, communities and public bodies push the boundaries in energy efficiency and the switch to clean energy. This is especially the case where climate change is at the forefront of the news agenda, particularly as countries gather for climate talks at COP23 in Bonn right now. The 120 entrants to the Awards are playing their part and I commend the winners on their outstanding achievements in saving energy.”

This is the 14th year of the SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards and entrants to the eight categories demonstrated savings of over €27 million. Dairygold won the Large Business Energy Management category, sponsored by ESB, for its energy management programme that’s founded on the international energy management standard, ISO50001. Two of Dairygold’s processing sites in Mitchelstown have received ISO50001 certification. The standard is extensively used to progress energy management and to identify energy saving projects for investment. To date it has implemented numerous projects, including the largest biogas boiler installation in Europe. The majority of projects carried out were relatively low cost while delivering a quick payback. Annual energy savings of 7.67 GW and €300,000 in cost savings have been achieved to date.

M50 Concession Ltd, a public private partnership company that provides maintenance on the M50 motorway, won the Small Business Award. It has installed power controllers which reduces the amount of energy used for lighting at set times of the night depending on traffic flows. The project has delivered 43% energy saving equating to financial savings of just over €300,000 annually.

For full details on all winning projects, visit www.seai.ie

2017 Winners in SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards:

Energy Team of the Year: Waterford Institute of Technology

WIT is the first Institute of Technology to achieve the international energy management standard ISO50001. ISO 50001 supports organizations in all sectors to use energy more efficiently, through the development of an energy management system. WIT has exceeded its public sector 33% energy saving target, having achieved over 36% to date and has made cost savings of over €300,000. A team of WIT staff and students working together have driven the project and they continue to enable staff and students to bring energy to the agenda of everyday life at WIT as well as in their homes.

Small Business: M50 Concession Ltd

M50 Concession Ltd, a public private partnership company that provides maintenance on the M50 motorway, employs 23 people. It has installed power controllers which reduces the amount of energy used for lighting at set times of the night depending on traffic flows. This is a viable affordable alternative and an example of what can be done quickly to achieve significant savings.  This is a viable affordable alternative and when combined with LED upgrades, it could prove to be a real game changer in street lighting efficiency. The project has delivered 43% energy saving equating to financial savings of just over €300,000 annually.

Community: Energy Communities Tipperary Co-Op

Energy Communities Tipperary Co-operative CLG brings twelve communities in Tipperary together in a co-operative to carry out deep retrofits on homes. The aim of the project was to save energy, save money, create warm homes and generate jobs. Their action has resulted home owners benefitting from higher levels of comfort, with €4 million generated in energy cost savings to date. Their project brings together rural communities with diverse backgrounds and needs, and focuses on what can actively be done to mitigate climate change one step at a time. This approach could easily be adopted by other rural communities.

Large Business Management Programme (sponsored by ESB): Dairygold

Dairygold’s energy management programme is founded on the international energy management standard, ISO50001 and they have received certification for two processing sites in Mitchelstown. The standard is extensively utilised to drive the ongoing development of their energy management programme and identification of energy saving projects for investment. To date they have implemented numerous projects, including the largest biogas boiler installation in Europe. The majority of projects carried out were relatively low cost while delivering a quick payback. Annual energy savings of 7.67 GW and €300,000 in cost savings have been achieved to date.

Large Business Project (sponsored by Gas Networks Ireland): Astellas, Kerry Plant

Astellas Ireland is a pharmaceutical company, manufacturing a range of health treatments which are distributed globally from Kerry. Astellas has applied the  Energy Efficient Design Standard IS399 approach, which considers potential opportunities to maximise energy saving benefits from the start of new investment projects. This minimises energy consumption through their lifecycle. It has applied the standard to three projects to date; a canteen expansion, a compressed air upgrade and a chiller plant upgrade. Collectively, these projects have delivered annual energy savings of 1.7GWh and €135,000 cost savings. A further 6 projects are currently underway.

Public Sector (sponsored by Enprova): National Ambulance Service

The HSE’s National Ambulance Service has undertaken a Green Technology Initiative in their fleet of emergency ambulances.  It has reduced fuel use and emissions through driver behaviour change, an eco-anti-idle system and built in solar PV systems which fully charge the vehicles’ equipment while parked up on call. To date, savings of over €750,000 have been achieved.

Design: Durkan Residential

Durkan Residential Ltd is a Dublin based private housing developer who has focused on developing cost effective methods for building energy efficient houses. It has built the largest certified Passive House development in Ireland at their site in Citywest. Each house takes only 12 weeks to build and is extremely cost effective to run. The 58 houses meet Ireland’s 2020 Near Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) targets for performance and surpass the proposed Building Regulation standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Research: Exergyn
Exergyn research is based on developing an engine to convert hot water to power. It is expected to be the only zero emission generator that can deliver reliable low-cost power whenever it is needed and could solve many of the world’s energy problems. Exergyn had to design a test apparatus to test the endurance of the engine material to prove the fatigue life of components as well as the engine itself. A full scale trial engine is almost ready for testing.

CAPTION:

Pictured from left: Julie O’Neill, Chair of SEAI; with winners of the Large Business Project (sponsored by Gas Networks Ireland), Fran McFadden,(Gas Networks Ireland); with Colm Timmons and Tim Moroney of Astellas, Kerry Plant; and Jim Gannon, Chief Executive of SEAI; at the SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards 2017.