Connemara Ireland Wind Turbine Installation

The video set to music by the Marcus Hernon family is of the installation of the Proven Energy 6kW wind turbine supplied by RES Wicklow by Paraic Conneely Electrical in Connemara, Co Galway.

Ten Years of Community Energy In Scotland

School Wants Credit For Energy It Produces

Note the wind turbine in the school's crest!

A school in Co Galway yesterday turned its playground into a farmyard complete with livestock in an unusual protest directed at the Government’s energy policy. Lisheenkyle National School, four miles from Athenry, Co Galway, claims to be the only school in the Republic with its own wind turbine.

Teachers and pupils were protesting against restrictive green energy regulations that preclude a school – as opposed to a farm or other kind of enterprise – from obtaining credits or cash for the wind energy it produces out of school hours. As the turbine quietly sliced the air in the windswept school yard, the pupils eagerly got involved in the “farm sit-in”. They petted a pony, a calf, chickens and pups brought along for the day by local farmers, parents and friends.

Community Energy Scotland

Stronger, more self reliant and resilient communities through energy generation and efficiency.

Community Energy Scotland is an independent charity that provides advice and financial support for renewable energy and conservation projects developed by community groups in Scotland. The renewable energy potential of their area of operation is considerable, with a large number of small communities which are pioneering community owned and led projects. 

Their stated objective: "We believe that communities can become stronger, more self reliant and resilient by generating their own energy and using it efficiently."

Many of these renewable energy projects are being undertaken by social enterprises such as development trusts. The charity works closely with its members to develop projects which bring most benefit to their local communities.

Scotland Shows The Way On Community Ownership

Public opinion is largely in favor of wind energy in Germany and Denmark -- arguably Europe's original wind powerhouses. This social acceptance is driven by a high ownership of projects by communities since the 1980s. Nearly half of the total wind capacity in Germany is owned by farmers or cooperatives, while in Denmark, the figure is 88%. Indeed, in Germany, the public has embraced the idea so wholeheartedly that in some parts of the country it is generally accepted that the only people who can build a wind farm are those living in that area and such projects are expected to be virtually immune to legal challenge.

On the other side of the North Sea, however, such involvement by communities in wind farm development is almost unheard of. When plans for a wind farm are unveiled in the UK, most of the action tends to come from those in opposition, while those in favor often remain silent. Permitting rates by project dropped to 54% in the UK in 2011. If involvement by communities has had such positive benefits in Germany and Denmark, why has it not taken off in the UK?

Ireland and Climate Change

Ireland and Climate Change, a photo by Guaire Glas on Flickr.

The National Trust For Ireland

An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland set up Environmental Education in 1993 and now runs a wide range of education and awareness raising programs including:

National Spring Clean
Blue Flag Ireland
Green Home
Green Schools Ireland
Clean Coast Ireland
Learning About Forests 
Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE)

Ray Anderson on Intergenerational Tyranny

In this video, the late Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface, the largest carpet maker in the world, describes the concept of "Intergenerational Tyranny". In 1994, Ray began to champion industrial ecology and steer the company towards zero-waste, zero-carbon sustainability.

Ray explains, "There's not a single scientific peer-reviewed paper published in the last 25 years that would contradict this scenario: Every living system of Earth is in decline, every life support system of Earth is in decline." 

"The typical company of the 20th century, extractive, wasteful, abusive, linear, in all of its processes. Taking from the earth, making, wasting, sending its products back to the biosphere. We're leaving a terrible legacy of poison and diminishment of the environment for our grandchildren. It's the wrong thing to do."