DERRY City and Strabane District Council has improved energy efficiency and increased its usage of renewable solutions across its buildings through its participation in SECURE (Smarter Energy Communities in Northern and Arctic Regions).
SECURE is a European Funded project to transfer and implement innovative energy solutions through transnational co-operation in the partner regions of Ireland, the North of Ireland, the Faroe Islands and Sweden with a budget of €1.8M to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions across five partner regions
Leo Strawbridge, Energy Manager with Derry City and Strabane District Council said that the implementation of pilot projects in SECURE, has achieved savings of approximately £50k and reduced carbon emissions by 180 tonnes of CO2
He added that amongst the successes of the SECURE Project was the creation of 5 Smarter Energy Communities in Leitrim and Donegal, Derry City & Strabane, the Faroe Islands and Västernorrland in Sweden.
The project delivered over 30 energy solutions applied which improved the energy consumption in 38 houses, alternative energy sources were installed in public buildings increasing the energy efficiency by at least 5%.
The SECURE Project also identified and promoted more than 30 energy good practices across the participating regions and successfully engaged with more than 170,000 citizens.
According to Leo one of the key successes of the SECURE project was the successful collaboration between the partner regions and groupings and the establishment of new networks to share knowledge and best practices.
He said: “One of Council’s key outputs was the identification of 40 energy reduction actions through SECURE.
“They included the installation of 12 kW of Solar PV linked to a 15kW intelligent battery storage system in the Irish Street Community Centre, the installation of a more efficient boiler in Derry’s civic offices on Strand Road and the installation of LED lights in a number of Council buildings.”
