Solar-powered HQ to cut council’s carbon footprint

THE headquarters of Limerick County Council at Dooradoyle is the first state-owned building to install Photovoltaic solar panels to reduce their carbon footprint and energy usage.

Limerick County Council estimates the project will reduce the local authority’s oil and electricity use by 15%.

Photovoltaic (PV) technology converts sunlight into electricity.

The majority of existing solar technologies used in state-owned premises use sunlight to heat water only.

Chris Barry, facilities manager with Limerick County Council, said: “Environmental policies are constantly changing and, as a local authority, we need to advocate renewable technologies and how they can be used in an appropriate way.”

Mr Barry explained that capital costs proved to be an important issue.

He said: “Cool Power agreed to install the system and remain the owner of the arrays, while Limerick County Council buys the green electricity generated from the system, avoiding the upfront cost of the installation. The system will definitely have an impact reducing our carbon footprint.

“We are proud to be the first local authority taking this step. Our model can be followed by others.”

Tim Cooper of Cool Power, said: “This project represents the first large solar PV system to be installed on state-owned buildings; the first independently financed large PV system and the first sale of 100% renewable locally generated electricity to a large customer.”