The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has awarded approximately €19 million in government funding to support more than 40 new energy research projects across Ireland.
These projects bring together leading academic institutes, companies, and public sector organisations and were supported with co-funding from the Department of Transport, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and ESB Networks.
The SEAI stated that the 2023 Climate Action Plan aims to transform and improve life in Ireland, setting out how Ireland will accelerate action to respond to the climate and energy crisis, with research and innovation central to achieving these goals.
Energy research projects
Projects awarded are directly aligned to national energy targets and ambitions and according to the SEAI, will be central to informing Ireland’s climate action and achievement of medium- to long-term climate and energy targets.
Projects awarded cover a wide range of topics including research investigating, among others:
- The development of floating offshore wind technologies;
- Wind farm interactions with hen harriers;
- Whole-life-cycle energy performance of residential buildings;
- Realising equality, diversity, and inclusion for energy sector transformation.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD said: “Research and innovation are crucial to address Ireland’s energy and climate ambitions.
“The SEAI National Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Funding Programme continues to support our national experts to innovate.
“Successful projects demonstrate enthusiasm to find solutions to Ireland’s energy needs, to support policy with cutting-edge research outputs and ultimately to accelerate Ireland’s clean energy transition.”
Margie McCarthy, director of research and policy insights at SEAI added: “SEAI is delighted to support these innovative research projects, which will underpin the next wave of solutions to drive Ireland’s energy revolution.
“Ireland has proven innovation abilities and we need the insights and learnings that this research will bring to accelerate the decarbonisation of our energy sector.”
Agri-related project
Among the agri-related projects to receive funding is ‘AgReGen: Optimal pathways for the proliferation of renewable microgeneration in the Irish Agri-sector’, which has been awarded €400,000.
Researchers stated that at present, it is unknown what size of solar PV system is most suitable for a particular farm, given the large number of farm specific parameters that strongly influence this decision.
At a national-level, it is unknown what potential maximum renewable generation capacity could be installed if the 135,000 eligible farms were to adopt PV microgeneration within the on-farm and local electrical infrastructural limitations.
AgReGen aims to quantify these unknowns and find the optimal future pathways for renewable microgeneration on Irish farms through a two-level approach:
- A tool will be developed for deployment at farm level, which will calculate the optimal size of PV system based on the unique conditions of each farm;
- A national-level analysis of all eligible farms across Ireland will be carried out based on their infrastructural parameters. The analysis will determine both the potential maximum and the most economically optimal renewable microgeneration capacity level.
The lead organisation on the research is Munster Technological University (MTU) along with partner organistions Bord Bia andTeagasc.
DAFM, ESB Networks, Gas Networks Ireland and Energia are also collaborating on the project.
The 2023 SEAI National Energy Research Development and Demonstration Funding Programme Call will open for applications in late March 2023.