Connect with Energy

18/06/2012

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

PRESS RELEASE: Monday 18^th June 2012

South Dublin County Council signed up to the Covenant of Mayors on Monday June 11^th 2012 and hosted a week long ‘Connect with Energy’ initiative to coincide with the signing. The Covenant of Mayors sign up and ‘Connect with Energy’ initiative, are the culmination of a year long involvement in the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) funded LEAP (Leadership for Energy Action and Planning) programme.

The main focus of the ‘Connect with Energy’ initiative was to support and engage South Dublin homeowners, businesses, community groups, schools and other stakeholders, in learning more about reducing their energy costs, increasing energy efficiency and stimulating job growth in South Dublin County.

Throughout the week a variety of hour long workshops took place, the main focus of these workshops was: energy at home, energy in business and the opportunities presented by electric vehicles. Visitors to the workshops also had the opportunity to view a supporting exhibition displaying energy multimedia and a range of products available from the suppliers of energy goods and services who hosted the workshops.

South Dublin County Council has a strong track record in engaging with communities and its expertise gained from the range of renewable and sustainable energy pilot projects it has undertaken in the past ten years, was displayed as part of the exhibition. The exhibition was also used to portray the Council’s current involvement in two significant energy programmes: the EU Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) funded Leadership for Energy Action and Planning Programme (LEAP) and the Tallaght Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) programme.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) also hosted a series of schools workshops during the week, which were attended by Mayor Caitriona Jones. The visiting schools also attended the ‘Connect with Energy’ exhibition at The Big Picture and met with representatives of Windsor Motors and B&Q Liffey Valley.

Pat Rabbitte TD Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources praised the event during his opening address and stated, “Every year, homeowners and businesses lose money through wasted energy. Improving energy efficiency requires everyone – individuals, businesses and Government - to take action. Individuals and businesses can play their part by investing in energy efficiency measures for the home and workplaces.”

Mayor Caitriona Jones offered her continued support to South Dublin County Council’s energy programme and stated “Today, South Dublin County is home to approximately 265,000 persons and over 6,000 businesses. To sustain and encourage further growth in our County across all sectors, we all need to become better informed about how to reduce energy costs, particularly in our homes and businesses. It is also important for us to continue to educate ourselves on how to reduce CO2 emissions generated in South Dublin County and how we can all contribute to lowering the carbon footprint of Dublin and the country as a whole”.

South Dublin County Council would like to thank all those who contributed and participated in this rewarding and valuable initiative. A copy of workshop presentations will shortly be available at www.southdublinenergy.ie

Further information is available from the South Dublin Energy Team energyteam@sdublincoco.ie  or by telephone 01-4149000.

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