We are delighted to sponsor Waterford PPN Awards – Nominations now open!

/in , , /by

Nominations Now Open

Waterford PPN are delighted to announce the launch of the 2022 Waterford PPN Community & Voluntary Awards. This year’s awards are in collaboration with Waterford City & County Council, Waterford Volunteer Centre, South East Energy Agency, BHP Insurance, Local Link Waterford, Expressway and the Dept of Rural & Community Development. The awards scheme is the only platform in Waterford that recognises and celebrates the commitment and vibrancy of the community and voluntary sector and the value of the voluntary contribution made by community and voluntary groups and volunteers. The awards acknowledge groups and individuals who, through their commitment to voluntary and community activities, have played a significant role in enhancing the quality of life in their communities. The awards gala ceremony, where the winners will be announced will take place on November 24th where all nominees will be invited to attend the evening. Read more

Greener HGV - reduce fleet costs

Greener HGV Programme – ECO Driving Championship

/in , , , /by

We attended the ECO Driving Competition at Kilcullen Circle K in Co. Kildare on the 16th of July, where Ireland’s best energy-efficient drivers competed for a spot to represent Team Ireland at the 32nd UICR Professional Driver’s World Championship in Zagreb, Croatia.

Irish Fleet companies can still avail of the Greener HGV programme, where they can benefit from a grant that subsidises the use of innovative technology & professional driver training. This programme will deliver real fuel savings and is subsidised by the Climate Action Fund as part of Project Ireland 2040. Not only does the programme help with the Climate Action Fund’s aim to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 80%, but helps reduce fuel costs by thousands of euros every year. For more info on the Greener HGV Programme visit the link below

Find Out More

Energy Poverty Advisory Hub & Best Practice Guidebook

/in , , , , /by

3cea Energy Engineer Colm O’Mahony is currently attending day 2 of the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub, where there are great discussions on the main issues, challenges and barriers to help alleviate Energy Poverty.

Energy poverty is persistent and potentially on the rise in Europe. In 2020, one in 12 European citizens were not able to afford to keep their homes adequately warm. One in 16 were in arrears on their utility bills. Many European citizens find themselves struggling to pay their bills due to soaring energy costs, hitting the lowest income households the hardest.

3cea in partnership with Empower and the Southern Regional Assembly has published an Energy poverty Best Practice Guidebook, which displays 9 inspirational good practice projects relating to Energy Poverty and how they can be implemented at local, regional, and national levels to help reduce Energy Poverty.

Read the Energy Poverty Guidebook here

Wicklow SEC: Energy Awareness Day 2022

/in , , , , /by

3cea were in attendance at the Wicklow Sustainable Energy Community Energy Awareness Day on Saturday 18th June in the Pastoral Centre Wicklow.

The event featured:

•16 electric vehicles from 10 dealerships
•A range of electric bicycles
•Installers of solar panels, air to heat pumps and electric car chargers
•Suppliers of LED bulbs, eco-friendly paints, ultra-quiet electric lawnmowers and other electric powered garden equipment
•Launch of the Energy Master Plan for Wicklow
•Technical advice from a one-stop-shop on appropriate measures that can be taken to reduce emissions
•Advice on behalf of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on available grants
•Information on the proposed Codling Wind Park off the Wicklow Coast
•Fun activities such as a smoothie bike where you can make your own refreshing drink without a plug and an electric game to test hand eye coordination
•Face painting and energy awareness activities for children

Find out how your community can become an SEC and develop renewable energy options in your area.👇

Meet the Buyer/Supplier, 3cea’s Dynamic Purchasing System Event

/in , , , /by

Great presentations and fantastic innovation, great to see progressive thinking in our industry and groups of like-minded people coming together.
– April McHale /Technical Sales Engineer at Daikin Ireland

On Tuesday 21st of June, 3cea hosted the Meet the Buyer/Supplier DPS event at the Hoban Hotel in Kilkenny.
The event provided basic information about our Dynamic Purchasing System for potential contactors in the energy efficiency, renewable energy and retrofitting field.

Thank you to all who attended the Meet the Buyer event which was a massive success, further developing existing and new partnerships between 3cea, building contractors and suppliers.

If you missed the event, you can view the presentation slides here

For more information on 3cea’s Dynamic Purchasing System visit the link below
https://3cea.ie/join-our-team-as-a-building-contractor/

500 Additional Fleet Vehicles Sought for Government Funded Greener HGV Programme

/in , , , /by

Energy and telematics experts are reaching out to fleet companies nationwide and encouraging them to get involved in the grant-aided Greener HGV programme designed to help them cut harmful emissions and save up to 10% on soaring fuel bills.

A 30% technology software and hardware grant is available to Irish fleet companies who sign up for the landmark Government-funded initiative. It aims to fit 1,000 fleet vehicles across Ireland with smart telematics. Further details on how to apply are available at https://www.greenerhgv.ie/

Over 500 vehicles have been signed up for the €1.4 million Climate Action Fund Greener HGV Programme launched in Summer of last year. Of these, 300 are in the oil distribution business. Telematics company Cubo has partnered with 3cea to deliver the programme on behalf of the Irish Government as part of their target for Project Ireland 2040.

Twelve fleet companies were involved in the Transport Telematics & Driver Training Pilot Project which preceded the Greener HGV programme. It included the installation of telematics on 326 vehicles across all fleets, and delivery of eco-driving training for the 371 fleet drivers. It achieved an 11% saving on energy consumption.

In real terms,  the saving of 1989 tonnes of CO2 is equivalent to removing 975 cars from our roads for a year.  Annual savings of over €2,900 were achieved per truck when fuel prices were significantly lower than they are today.

Paddy Phelan, 3cea CEO, said: “Under ‘The Greener HGV Programme’ the transport sector will reduce fuel consumption and emissions from vehicles by driving smarter and by embracing new technologies. The results from our initial test cases show that the benefits and cost savings are clear. And with fuel costs continuing to increase, savings will also increase.

“Every fleet company in the country will benefit from this cost and emissions-saving exercise. We have already fitted 249 HGVs with telematic equipment. Any fleet company that is interested in saving fuel and reducing their CO2 emissions needs to act now as  the scheme is proving to be extremely popular,” he added.

East Cork Oil’s 186 vehicles are all signed up and the company is among 13, with fleet sizes ranging from 5 to almost 200, to get involved so far.  John O’Callaghan, Senior Cost Accountant at East Cork Oil said: “We have a very dynamic operation, when you run a fleet of almost 200 vehicles it makes sense to introduce technology that can take over some of those more mundane and time-consuming tasks.

“The ease of accessing camera footage was a huge benefit to us, as well as the obvious environmental improvements from being able to measure – and make steps to reduce – our carbon footprint.  We previously used multiple systems for tracking, monitoring fuel usage, downloading the driver’s cards and tachographs and were in the market for cameras.

“It was an obvious choice to move to a supplier that could meet all our requirements on one platform – with the added incentive of the 30% government grant,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

Bryan Hynes, Distribution Manager at DCC Oil Group, said the programme meets several of their future needs. “DCC Oil Group were in the process of merging 3 oil companies – Jones Oils, Campus Oils and Emo Oils.  We were looking for a complete transport solution to manage the newly merged large fleet, and we were interested in live camera technology.

“The time was right to find a system that ticked all the boxes – which the Cubo solution does.  For DCC, one of its main attractions is the ability to remotely download our tachographs which means we don’t need our drivers to return to base, saving time, fuel, and emissions – before our drivers even get to the professional driver training.   We are committed to developing a conscious driving culture which will undoubtedly result in a reduction of our carbon footprint and fuel costs.”

Robert Steele from Cubo said: “We are delighted with how popular the scheme has been and would urge companies who want to save fuel and reduce their CO2 emissions to apply as soon as possible.   We have funding for 1,000 vehicles and have already assigned 50% of that.”

To avail of the 30 per cent technology software and hardware grant, applicants can apply now on www.greenerhgv.ie Smart telematics employed include tracking, fuel, remote tachograph downloads and compliance software, live footage cameras and driver awareness panels. All are part of the technology that will be used to deliver sustainable measures.

Existing participants are now at the driver training stage, which is currently being delivered online, via an app. This facilitates companies struggling to meet additional pressures the industry is facing around Covid-19 and driver shortages. Cubo and 3CEA have welcomed the positive feedback from the first cohort of participants.

Housing 4.0E Conference Comes to a Close

/in , , , /by

The Housing 4.0E conference was hosted in late May 2021. This conference joined the Floriade Expo in Almere, Netherlands. This was a fitting setting for the event given the theme of the Floriade Expo being ‘Growing Green Cities’. It featured guest speakers from our partner organisations as well as industry experts and shared insights the pilots have yielded thus far. The conference was set up to inspire attendees and highlight the accomplishments of the project thus far. It featured keynote speakers, debates, and practical workshops.

The event was opened by Ank Bijleveld (NL), Mayor of Almere, and hosted by Natasja van den Berg (NL), an expert in citizen participation and sustainability. The keynote speakers included (click for presentations):

The two debates held across the two-day conference covered; “What are the major lessons learned with the pilots and what needs to be done with it?” and “How to Scale-up and Innovate in the Building Industry”. These debates were a mixture of H4.0E ambassadors, partners, and stakeholders.

The Floriade Expo is a world horticultural exhibition that takes place in the Netherlands once a decade. This iteration is taking place in Almere and runs from 14th April 2022 to 9th October 2022. The theme for the expo this year is ‘Growing Green Cities’ in collaboration with national and international participants at the Expo. Floriade’s theme Growing Green Cities presents the creative, green, sustainable solutions required to make this a reality. This theme is more important than ever as by 2050, some 68% of the global population will live in cities on a mere 2% of the earth’s surface area.

Some Highlights From The Conference

“Enter the arena” and “Keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground” were some of the calls to action that were made by Jan Rotmans at the H40E conference.

 

Presentation of The Guidebook by Ivar Diekerhof.

 

Joke Dufourmont shows the advantages and processes of building homes from sustainably grown timber.

 

“Being an Ambassador is about Connection” Marion Jammet, Chris Troniseck, and Nathan Van der Bossche take part in the Ambassadors Debate. The debate discussed the major lessons learned with the pilots and what needs to be done with it?”

 

Ralf Kampe leads one of the breakout rooms during the conference where he presented the Low Carbon Fabric First Approach.

 

Alastair Parvin from Open Systems Lab opens day 2 of the Conference. Alastair i presented the Platform in development as part of the H4.0E project which will allow individuals to design their own NZEB and ZEB houses.

 

Debate between H4.0E partners, ambassadors, and stakeholders on ‘How to Scale-up and Innovate in the Building Industry’.

 

“Scale, speed, quality, affordability, and low energy – How do we do it?” Ireland needs 30,000 houses in 5 years. 3cea senior engineer and Chair of Association Irish Energy Agencies, Alexandra Hamilton, discusses how do we get there while keeping emissions low and quality high.

 

Architect and Irish TV producer, Duncan Stewart closes the Housing 4.0E Conference recapping some of the lessons from the speakers and having a discussion with attendees.

 

Sustainable Energy Communities & Wexford County Council Workshop 2022

/in , , , /by

On Friday 10th of June, 3cea had the pleasure of attending a workshop between Wexford County Council and Sustainable Energy Communities in Wexford County. The workshop was designed by both the SEC Programme and Wexford County Council with the overall goal of creating a framework for cooperation and collaboration between Wexford County Council (WCC) and the Communities for the development and achievement of community projects and goals.

Sustainability is about so much more than carbon emissions, rising sea levels and soaring energy costs. It’s about community welfare, inclusion and creating opportunities for communities to thrive socially and economically. Both the SEC Programme and WCC recognise this and the important role that each Community plays as we transition to a more sustainable way of living.

Start your sustainable community journey and join the SEC network today: https://3cea.ie/sectors/community/

3cea

The South East SEC Team Day – Putting smiley faces and ticks on a new strategy

/in , , , /by

There’s a lot to look forward to over the next year.

The SEAI Sustainable Energy Communities programme has grown at an incredible rate even through Covid-19 with the number of communities in the Southeast growing from 50 communities in 2019 to 71 today.

All of these communities are working towards reducing their carbon footprint with the help of their County Mentor and Regional Coordinator with a lot of this work being done remotely or our in the communities themselves.

Monday the 16th of May was the first time since 2020 when all four County Mentors – Marina De Costa Carlow, Therese Curran Kilkenny, Yvonne Byrne Waterford and Fiona O’Loughlin, got to meet in-person with Gráinne Kennedy of 3cea the Regional Coordinator.

The purpose of the day was to come up with a strategy for how best we can support our communities for the next year. Everything was discussed from each county’s successes to the projects that can be prioritised to the skills that communities need to be resilient and to engage successfully with everyone in their community. We have come away with many actions to work on and with solidarity that together we give our communities what they need to transition to a sustainable energy future.

Start your sustainable community journey and join the SEC network today: https://3cea.ie/sectors/community/ 

Waterford Grid Study Finds Potential for Renewable Energy Projects

/in , , , /by

A recent study conducted by Mullan Grid Consulting, for 3cea with funding from Waterford Leader Partnership, highlights the electricity grid’s capacity for renewable energy projects in County Waterford.

With many substations located around the county, Waterford communities have access to connect to the grid. Renewable energy projects which may be suitable for local communities include wind farms and solar farms. Both developments would need to securely connect to the grid for sufficient use. This study was conducted to see what capacity is available in County Waterford prior to planning a renewable energy project in our local communities.

Under the Renewable Energy Support Scheme communities can develop their own renewable energy project of between 0.5 and 5 MW. The biggest barrier to developing any renewable energy project is grid capacity. 3cea applied for Leader funding to carry out a study on where the best sites for community renewable energy projects might be based on the grid capacity. The study was completed by Mullan Grid.

The Waterford Grid Study is available here for communities who wish to see the potential in their area for a renewable energy project.

To learn more about our community group projects, visit our communities page here.