A pilot project in Ireland will explore community-led solar projects and examine how smart energy management can strengthen grid resilience.
Ireland is joining a new European initiative that hopes to improve how communities produce, consume and share renewable energy.
Called Innovative Transactive Renewable Energy Communities (INNO-TREC), the project offers free web-based tools to guide communities in successfully setting up and running collective solar installations. The project is funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe.
In Ireland, INNO-TREC will see collaboration between Dublin-based Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Europe, Cork’s DCSix Technologies, University College Cork (UCC) and the Dingle Hub.
As part of the initiative, Ireland will host one of the six demonstration sites across Europe, focusing on energy efficiency in agricultural solar photovoltaic (PV)-based communities.
The pilot will explore opportunities for community-led solar projects under the Irish Renewable Electricity Support Scheme and examine how smart energy management can strengthen grid resilience through demand response actions.
In doing so, the projects attempts to address challenges communities face in creating collective solar installations, including complex legal processes, technical hurdles, high upfront costs and a lack of reliable tools. The project will also simultaneously run in Greece, Belgium, the UK, Italy and Portugal.
The Irish demonstration project hopes to reduce overall energy costs by 25pc, increase community usage of self-produced energy by 30pc, boost user engagement by 30pc and improve grid support by 50pc.
Ireland’s Climate Action Plan aims for 80pc renewable electricity in the country by 2030. However, a recent government report found that since 2018, total energy-related emissions have only fallen by 16pc – reducing at an average of 2.7pc.
This is considerably shorter than the required pace of more than 5pc needed to meet the country’s 2030 climate targets.
Running until June 2029, INNO-TREC hopes community-led renewable projects could play a stronger role in achieving the EU’s goals.
“Ireland’s agricultural sector offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate how renewable energy can be integrated efficiently and sustainably,” said Mario Couto, project lead at EPRI Europe.
“At EPRI Europe, we will be developing a user-friendly online tool that helps communities understand their energy, so they can make informed decisions and get the most value from their renewable systems,” he added. EPRI Europe was founded in 2019 as an off-shoot of the California-headquartered EPRI, created to participate in research consortiums in the region.
DCSix Technologies will provide participating communities with innovative solutions to tackle the issues at hand, while UCC and the Dingle Hub will work toward removing barriers and ensuring strong local participation.
“This demonstration is about more than technology – it’s about empowering people,” said Deirdre de Bhailís, the general manager at Dingle Hub.
UCC Prof Brian Ó Gallachóir added, “This new project builds on a fruitful and fulfilling 10-year collaborative research partnership with the Dingle Hub and wider community, exploring, supporting, and tracking their transition to a low-carbon future. The project’s research findings will be used to inform wider policy and practices nationally.”
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