COMHAIRLE CHONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, June 12, 2006

QUESTION No. 22

QUESTION: Cllr. Fintan McCarthy

To ask the Manager to indicate what percentage of the energy needs of the Council are currently being provided by alternative energy providers and to indicate what steps the Council will take to shift towards the purchase of electricity from environmentally-friendly electricity suppliers?

REPLY;

Following previous Council questions on this topic, discussions were initiated with Eirtricity to identify what alternative options may be available.

As a result, Eirtricity asked for a breakdown of energy usage and loadings for the Council's offices and depots, and also for public lighting and other usage to allow comparative tariff evaluation. This data is still being compiled, and it is hoped that this will allow Eirtricity to outline a range of sustainable alternative options to meet the Council's energy needs.

The Council has already incorporated some leading edge technology to provide alternative ways of supplying heating and lighting through the Thermie Housing Project.

The Architectural Services Department's recent "Power in the Pool" seminar demonstrated how the Council has incorporated these new technologies in the design and construction of the new community swimming pools in Tallaght and Clondalkin. Some of the new technologies, such as the use of CHP (Combined Heat and Power), and solar power are already included in projects, and photovoltaic cells, which convert sunlight to electricity, are being considered for the new Arts Centre.

The Council is committed to the new "simply green" design approach being used in the design of all new Council buildings and the use of renewables in this strategy.