DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL:DUBLIN CITY Council is working with the sustainable energy agency Codema, the private sector and the city's major third-level institutions to help the city establish itself as a leading sustainable city. It is estimated that this will result in savings of €397,000 in energy costs every year, while also improving the quality of life for Dublin inhabitants.
The initiative has resulted in the city being designated as one of three new exemplar Sustainable Energy Communities by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Dublin, along with Tallaght and Tralee, has committed to specific energy saving projects for the next five years.
SEAI’s Sustainable Energy Communities programme aims to develop a series of “living laboratories” to establish a culture of innovation and facilitate the emergence of new sustainable energy technologies and practices that grow energy-smart towns and cities.
Sustainable Energy Communities (SECs) involve everyone in the community, across all sectors, working together to enhance sustainability by being as energy-efficient as possible, using renewable energy where feasible and developing indigenous energy supplies.
The programme is intended to act as a catalyst that will help stimulate a national move towards sustainable energy practice and to deliver national energy targets.
The SEC model begins by establishing a clearly defined geographic area called the Sustainable Energy Zone (SEZ). The SEZ establishes sustainable energy targets that are measured and monitored and creates a focal point for partners, projects and proposals to integrate in a structured way. This allows new technologies and techniques to be tried and tested in an incubator, or living laboratory, environment.
“The area incorporated by the Dublin Sustainable Energy Zone runs from the Convention Centre and Grand Canal Dock as far as Merrion Square and the Civic Offices on the southside and takes in Mountjoy Square on the northside,” explains Dublin City Council green business officer Mark Bennett.
“It also takes in Kevin Street Library and Dominick St social housing scheme, which will be flagship projects within the zone. It allows for the different stakeholders including the local authority, the third-level sector, business and residents to come together to manage energy usage and efficiency in an integrated way. The project is aligned with other initiatives in the area such as the green IFSC and our own sustainability activities.”
The Dublin SEC programme encompasses a range of projects, from reducing the energy demands of commercial buildings so that businesses in Dublin can cope with rising energy costs, to improving the energy efficiencies of social housing at Dominick St and Ballymun to cut energy costs and increase comfort for inhabitants, all the while reducing Dublin’s overall carbon emissions.
Codema is co-ordinating the SEC on behalf of Dublin City Council. Other organisations involved include Siemens, Google, Trinity College, DIT and Ballymun Regeneration.
“The energy use of the buildings in the zone is very mixed – which is typical of any vibrant city centre – including public buildings, residential, retail, business and financial services, third level research, education and media,” says Codema director Gerry Wardell. “This is a great opportunity for the sustainable energy stakeholders in the city to collaborate in developing an effective Sustainable Energy Zone that will reach out into other communities, the Dublin region and even beyond.”
One such project within the SEC involves the energy efficiency improvements at the Mansion House. These works were designed to have minimal impact on the historic nature of the building; this was achieved by installing energy efficient LED lights, solar panels on the roof for hot water and a high-efficiency gas boiler for heating. Similarly, recently improved social housing in Ballymun is saving more than €230,000 a year through the installation of solar panels, high efficiency insulation and home heating systems.
These cost €550,000 to install but will have paid for themselves in terms of energy saved in just over two years, highlighting the importance of making investments in energy efficiency as a means of actually saving the city money.
“It is very early days for the whole thing,” says Mark Dyer, of project partner Trinity Haus. “Our main piece of work will be on the Civic Offices and the Wood Quay venue which cover some 36,000 square metres. We are focusing our attention on the Wood Quay venue, the Atrium and Blocks 3 and 4 to look at energy consumption in the buildings. The trick will be to develop a solution that optimises the heating system in the buildings and then passes this over to a project partner to implement. The Dublin Sustainable Energy Community will provide a good opportunity for researchers to work with industry, investigating new ideas and enable Irish architects and engineers to differentiate themselves on the international stage.”
“There are lots of individual sustainable energy projects being carried out in Dublin that focus on reducing carbon emissions, switching to renewable sources of energy and reducing overall costs associated with energy use,” says Wardell. “The SEC brings companies and organisations associated with these projects together so ideas and expertise can be shared, with the result that the benefits to Dublin as a city are maximised.”