Call to ‘ramp up’ energy efficiency

ONE of the country’s leading energy engineering experts has called on the Government and policymakers to “ramp up” our policy on improving energy efficiency and use of renewable energy in homes and transport.

UCC senior lecturer Brian O Gallachóir is part of a team at the university who have been developing an energy systems model which can tell scientists what kind of least-cost energy systems Ireland needs to put in place if we are to achieve the EU targets of reducing energy emissions by 20% by 2020.

Preliminary results from the model, called Irish TIMES, are indicating that emissions savings are best made in the housing sector and in transport and that we need to “at least redouble our efforts” at policy level.