Kilkenny County Council putting the Focus on Energy

Focus on Energy Week, organised by Carlow and Kilkenny Local Authorities is to highlight the importance of being energy aware in a bid to save money and positively contribute to climate action. Kilkenny County Council achieved ISO 50001 Energy Management Certification last year, an international standard for energy management and a surveillance audit by an independent auditor last Friday indicated that the organisation is excelling in maintaining the standard, so it is timely to celebrate the organisations success and as a community leader to encourage households and business to prioritise energy and determine if savings can be made, both for the planet and for your purse.

Cathaoirleach, Cllr Fidelis Doherty commented, “I wish the Council’s Energy Team ongoing success as they ensure energy efficiency remains a priority across all departments constantly looking for energy improvements. Its collaboration with the local energy agency, 3CEA, is really paying dividends. Their technical competency to assist the council, completing energy audits ensures that opportunities highlighted can be lined up for financial assistance and when appropriate funding calls are announced”. This energy awareness week nicely compliments all the work the Local Authority has achieved.Providing tips and highlighting the home energy saving kit available to borrow from the library service is giving everyone access to practical information to assist everyone in becoming more energy aware.

Kilkenny County Councils energy upgrades are diverse, for example, older buildings like the libraries have undergone works, most recently, Graiguenamanagh Library had a roof and windows upgrade In Thomastown, the Sessions House had an overall retrofit including a roof insulation upgrade and a heat pump installed. The Watergate Theatre got wall and roof insulation with a lighting upgrade planned in the months ahead. The Council’s public lighting network has also had significant energy saving upgrades and this work continues throughout 2022.

Focus on Energy Week contains a number of different elements, including a morning slot throughout the week on KCLR live with guest speakers including Grainne Kennedy from the local Energy Agency, 3CEA, who will explain their local offering to businesses and communities. Also, Dr Ciaran Byrne, SEAI’s National Director of Retrofit will speak about the recently announced energy retrofit funding.

“Both Councils are keen to promote, low cost solutions to energy efficiencies in the home by a series of social media assets and radio adverts aired this week and we will also be highlighting the availability of home energy saving kits which are available to borrow from local libraries across Carlow and Kilkenny. These kits provide useful gadgets like a plug-in energy monitor and a thermal leak detector to determine if your home can be more energy efficient. The weeks promotion is an action of Kilkenny County Council’s Climate Change Adaption Strategy and compliments numerous goals within the UN Sustainable Development Goals”. commented Bernadette Moloney, Environmental Awareness Officer.