Spirit of Ireland
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Hi all
Sorry to have missed the recent conference but by all accounts it was very successful. Just thought I'd submit a post about the "Spirit of Ireland" project. It has received some media attention recently and while the vast majority of recent news is on the gloomy side this project seems to buck the trend. The project combines job creation, energy independence, substituting energy imports with energy exports and satisfying kyoto emissions targets.
The website is www.SpiritorIreland.org and there have also been various articles published online which give an outline of the project. While I realise that not all RSA members may be interested in renewable energy, I think the way in which this project has been conceived and will be implemented may be of interest. I should mention that I am in no way connected to the project and am not here to advertise it as such. If there are any members in the RSA who are involved, I would like to hear their views and feel free to correct any details which I outline here. The project team portray a very "can do" attitude which has similarities with the Obama campaign across the water. The potential achievements of the project include -"enable local communities to control their economic development", -"create thousands of jobs which won't leave our local communities", -"Distribute wealth to counties and spur regional development" and -"Provide opportunities for training in whole new sectors". Basically the project involves the construction of wind farms on suitable sites and the use of water reservoirs to store surplus energy until required. It is not new technology and is already in use at Turlough Hill and a project in Japan. I realise that this already opens up a can of worms in relation to the siting of the infrastructure and the social, environmental and health implications and these should be discussed. An interview with the project leaders was featured on the "Wide Angle" on Newstalk during last Sundays show and is well worth a listen. I've included the link below but not sure if it will work out.
http://newstalk.ie/newstalk/programmes/17/the-wide-angle.html
They highlighted the importance of local ownership and outlined how they believed the windfarms should be constructed and managed by local wind farm co-ops. They also emphasised the importantance of consultation with local stakeholders and a comment was made comparing their approach and that which occurred during the Shell / Shell to sea campaign. The project also seems to be a good example of knowledge transfer occurring between research and actual concrete proposals. It illustrates how "Engineers, Academics, Consultants, Architects, Geologists, Construction experts and Legal and Financial professionals" have all come together to offer their expertise and present a feasible, positive, imaginative yet practical solution to a number of current and potential problems. This would seem to be a good example of what the RSA hope to achieve going forward.
Any comments welcome
Pat
Very interesting website. I like the music in the background from Donavan's "Catch the Wind" . . . pretty appropriate.
Just to note that the link in your post is slightly wrong, perhaps a typo> It should be http://www.spiritofireland.org
I agree with you that this is the type of thing that the RSA could become involved in
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Hi Bernard, thanks for the reply
On a similiar note its great to see on todays news the co-operative windfarm project in Co. Clare. Seems to be a great example of local ownership and keeping the benefits in the local area. This will probably also reduce local opposition in comparison to a project which is initiated by an external company. Below are a few extracts from the article with the link to it.
"WCRE is made up of West Clare Renewables and 30 farm families who collectively own 3,000 acres of mainly upland properties on Mount Callan. The landowners have a majority shareholding in the company and have also included a significant community fund aspect to the project".
"Company chairman Padraig Howard said Mount Callan provided the ideal combination of wind resource, transmission lines and available land for wind farms, and that an environmental impact study is to be submitted with the planning application.
He said Clare is the only county on the Western seaboard of Ireland with the electricity grid capacity to accommodate the additional renewable energy power. “We are confident that we have devised a scheme that will greatly benefit the local community and generate significant amounts of renewable energy, which will power thousands of homes without generating any harmful carbon emissions” Mr Howard said.
He said the co-operative approach in the project would maximise the economic and environmental benefits for local farming families and the community".
"Local landowner John Talty said the wind farm project would ensure the economic sustainability of the local community and wider economy for the next three decades at least and noted local people would be given first preference in relation to construction work and full-time employment once the wind farm was operational".
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0528/breaking22.htm