SEAI Award Winners 2019

Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Energy

Marie Donnelly

Marie Donnelly has thirty years’ experience in the European Commission. Marie is a former Director for Renewables, Energy Efficiency and Innovation at the Directorate General for Energy of the European Commission. During her career she has been a leading advocate of policies and strategies to accelerate our energy transition. She formulated key elements of the ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans’ package, designed to put energy efficiency first, achieve global leadership in renewable energies, and provide a fair deal for consumers. She currently the Chairperson of Renewable Energy Ireland, a member of the Governance Committee of the Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy, and serves on the Steering Committee of the International Energy Research Centre (IERC).

Marie also sits on the Board of Directors for Tipperary Energy Agency and is a European Advisory Board Member of the Hawthorn Club, the only International Network for professional women in the energy industry.

Energy Team

National University of Ireland, Galway

National University of Ireland, Galway is on a journey to establish the campus as one of the greenest Universities in the world. As part of its sustainability strategy, it has created a Green Campus Charter, encouraging and providing tools to students and staff on how to reduce energy use on site and at home. The Galway team also gives ‘green’ recommendations on new technology being used on campus, to ensure alignment with their sustainability goals. The team strive to LIVE, LEARN and LEAD by example, and are charting all three of these in daily actions, which have helped to achieve a 36% energy saving. They aim to achieve an ambitious 40% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020.

Public Sector

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLR) serves a population of 206,000 people and the Energy Team’s objective is to meet energy and climate change targets and to positively influence energy efficiency within the constituency. DLR was the first local authority in Dublin to achieve full compliance with ISO 50001 certification and achieving carbon neutrality is central to the County Development Plan. Exemplar housing upgrades include the retrofit of social housing to EnerPHit standard and new housing and other buildings built to nZEB and Passive House standards.

Research and Innovation

Ashleigh Environmental

Ashleigh Environmental is a CleanTech company focused on developing innovative environmental and bioenergy solutions for the agriculture industry. Ashleigh Environmental is currently developing advanced hydrolysis technology for the global bioenergy market. Extensive research enabled them to design an innovative system called Biowave, which significantly increases biogas production from organic waste. Biowave is a more simplified and more sustainable waste management system. The technology has been demonstrated at an industrial pilot scale for the agri biogas market and the company is now developing exciting applications across the broader bioenergy market.

Buildings

Astellas Ireland (AICL) Kerry Plant

Astellas Ireland (AICL) Kerry Plant is a pharmaceutical company, manufacturing a range of treatments, including the immunosuppressant Prograf® which is supplied to 114 countries globally from Killorglin. The ARK (Astellas Renewal Kerry) building project included Energy Efficient

Design principles and international design standard LEED. The project focused on building fabric with low U-values for windows, floors and walls between 30-50% below the regulation where feasible. The building includes innovative energy technologies and also includes PV panels on the roof and a solar thermal array. A full independent integrated energy model of the building was completed, showing energy cost savings of over 38% per annum and 950 tonnes of CO2.

Sustainable Energy Community

Kilanerin-Ballyfad Community Development Association SEC

Kilanerin-Ballyfad Community Development Association (KBCDA) – Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) project aims to identify energy reduction opportunities within the community, across residential and non-residential sectors, specifically in relation to; electricity, heating, and transport, as well as looking at measures for the community’s potential to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

KBCDA-SEC understand the urgency on the matter of sustainability in communities and know that each step made has a positive impact and that they are leading by example.

Large Business

Tipperary Co-Operative Creamery

Tipperary Co-Operative Creamery has been operating in one of Europe’s most traditional milk production areas since 1908 and has the capacity to process one million litres of milk per day. The milk is processed into cheese, butter, milk powders and other dairy products and each year it manufactures 35,000 tonnes of these products. The farmer/shareholder owned co-operative understands the impact that the business has on the environment and has introduced an energy efficient management system to reduce their carbon footprint. The Tipperary creamery consistently engages with the community to create an enhanced awareness at farm and school level, highlighting the importance of improved energy management from a business and social perspective. The energy management system has resulted in energy savings of over 10% in the first year of the program, since its implementation in 2018.

SME

Flahavan’s

Flahavan’s, Ireland’s oldest family-owned business has been milling oats for over 230 years, across seven generations at the family mill in Co. Waterford. The oats for the company’s Progress Oatlets are sourced from local farmers within a 60-mile radius of the mill in Kilmacthomas. Flahavan’s has four methods of energy generation with biomass from by-product, wind, solar and hydro working in a complimentary manner. Flahavan’s has reduced the need for almost half a million litres of diesel per year as steam is produced from the burning of the oat husks. The company also has its own on-site wind and water turbines which generate electricity for the facility’s production. Flahavan’s has always prioritised sustainability and its organic division accounts for over 25% of its overall business.

Emerging Sustainable Energy Champion

Victory Luke

Victory Luke is a 16-year-old student at Collinstown Park Community College, Clondalkin, in Dublin. Victory’s school has previously benefited from an SEAI community energy grant and that acted as the impetus from her to take up the climate action mantle. In June of this year, Victory addressed the International Energy Agency’s 4th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency which was held in Dublin. She spoke openly of her concerns for the future, her own willingness to take action and her determination to encourage others to do the same. Following this Victory also published an opinion piece in the Irish Times asking for hope and action among decision makers and members of the public.