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The
SERVE aims to create, in a region located in North Tipperary (Ireland),
a rural community which is a leading example in both energy efficiency
and renewable energy through the demonstration of best practise and
state of the art technologies.
Supported under the EU
Concerto programme which is funded by the EU Commission under the
Framework 6 programme, SERVE is a 5-years project focusing on RUE/RES in
rural areas. The project will target a region housing 0.1% of Ireland's
population, which will ensure national impact.
Concretely, the project will
implement the following activities :
-
Complete energy
audits and refurbishment actions on 500 buildings in SERVE Region
with the objective of achieving 30% reduction in energy use
-
Install 350
renewable energy systems (wood pellet systems, solar etc.) in
existing buildings
-
Construct 132
units in an Eco-Village in Cloghjordan that are 40% below current
building standards with energy performance
-
Construct Irelands
first large scale District Heating system
powered by
state-of-the-art wood-chip boilers and solar panels
in the Eco-Village
-
Complete a wide
range of monitoring and evaluation of energy performance within the
SERVE Region
-
Provide training
and information within the SERVE Region to stimulate further action
in the field of sustainable energy
-
Complete
socio-economic analysis of the impacts of the actions
with in the SERVE Region
The project also aims to
show-case the installation of a small number of micro-wind turbines at
particular locations in the region, along with researching how the
area’s future electricity needs can be met from renewables.
The project has officially
started in November 2007 and will provide grant support (for
refurbishment of existing houses, building of new house ion the
Eco-village, installation of RES installations, etc.) over a three year
period. The impact of the project will then be monitored and assessed
for two years.
The SERVE consortium, lead
by Tipperary Institute, teams
local actors with EU experts, to facilitate technology transfer and
ensure best practice. An emphasis is put on replicability, both at
national (Irish) and European levels, notably thanks to the research
collated during the five years of the project, which will allow any
lessons learned to be used by other communities in Europe. Also,
building owners will use diverse energy efficiency and reewable energy
technologies, which will maximize replicability.
The website of the project
is now available at the following address:
http://www.servecommunity.ie
For more info, download the
project's
press release or contact:
Seamus Hoyne, Project
Co-ordinator,
Tipperary Institute, Nenagh
Rd., Thurles, Co. Tipperary
Tel 0504-28114
Email: shoyne@tippinst.ie
with the support of
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