Graiguenamanagh Sustainable Energy Community Solar Project
Background
The Graiguenamanagh SEC, called Graiguenamanagh Energy Town (GET), works under the umbrella of Barrow Valley Community Development and has its own committee. The committee was formed from a group of residents with an ambition to deliver quantifiable reductions in the level of fossil fuel consumption and dependency in Graiguenamanagh. GET aims to achieve 100% energy self-sufficiency for Graiguenamanagh by 2030.
The solar project
The Solar PV project has been underway since 2020 making Graiguenamanagh the first community in Ireland that will generate, share and sell energy on a local level by using a Community Virtual Power Platform. In 2021, Phase 1 was completed. This included installing a solar panel array on the roof of one of the community buildings and using a battery to store any excess energy generated. At the time, it met nearly 100% of the community building electricity needs. Currently it generates about 40% mainly due to the huge increase in visitor numbers to the site.
Phase 2 was completed in 2024. Graiguenamanagh Energy Town (GET) installed Solar PV systems on the roofs of three local homes at no cost to the homeowner. GET rent the roof space from the homeowner and then sell the generated energy back to the homeowner for the term of the contract. Any unused energy is sold back to the grid. At the end of the contract (typically 10 to 15 years) possession of the solar PV system will transfer to the homeowner.
For phase 3, GET plans to install more Solar PV systems throughout the community, to both commercial and residential residents.
Every year we save 30 tonnes of carbon, we believe that by 2035 we will be carbon neutral in Graigenamanagh.
The Community Virtual Power Platform
The energy solutions are managed and reported to a partner utility company using Ireland’s first Community Virtual Power Platform (CVPP). This is an exciting innovation that will enable any community in Ireland to share and sell energy on a local level. The Graiguenamanagh project is replicable and scalable. The CVPP facilitates both energy trading and the potential for virtual energy sharing. The partner Utility, Arden Energy, facilitates the process by issuing a single bill for the client that includes power imported from the grid and power consumed by the community-owned solar panels.