Glenmalure Rural Energy Group hosted Community Energy Events

Glenmalure Rural Energy Group (GREG) hosted a series of online events for their community. The two-part community energy information event took place on Thursday 10th June and Thursday 17th June.

Part one of the event featured information in relation to home energy. This session provided the community with knowledge in the areas of insulation, heating your home and concluded with the current grants that are available to homeowners considering a home energy upgrade.

Part two of the series delved into the area of renewable energy, in particular the potential of renewable sources of energy such as biomass. Again, this information session outlined the grants that are available to pursue this green energy source.

As the events took place during Covid restrictions, both parts were online events. Each of the events featured videos from local Glenmalure residents who presented their own personal energy upgrade story. The local stories highlighted the benefits and challenges of upgrading the energy efficiency of their home, while also outlining why you should choose a renewable energy technology, such as Solar PV panels or Heat Pumps.

GREG organised a panel of experts for the events to discuss the grants that are available for homeowners and for the local community buildings. In particular, the Better Energy Community grant scheme was of great interest as they plan to upgrade their community buildings with energy efficient measures.

During the event, we at 3cea were delighted to participate and present the Glenmalure Energy Master Plan to the community. The Energy Master Plan takes in the surrounding areas of Glenmalure, Ballinaclash and Greenan, and it outlines the current energy standard and potential for the community.  The Energy Master Plan was conducted in collaboration with Wicklow County Council and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) through the Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) Programme. The community residents were encouraged to learn from the Energy Master Plan and to consider future energy upgrade works going forward.

The GREG community group have a recording of the event which can be seen here: https://youtu.be/UUVOEz5bQDg

For more information about our work, visit our Communities web page here.