Northside Community Enterprise Sustainable Energy Community (NCE SEC)
About this good practice
NCE has collaborated with many communities to reduce carbon emissions and improve the energy efficiency of their homes and buildings since its establishment in 1993. In 2018 NCE set up the ENERGY-HUB a community energy support office offering guidance to Sustainable Energy Communities on how best to develop, finance and implement energy efficiency retrofitting projects. In the same year established its own sustainable energy community offering training and education around energy awareness. The energy-hubs project planning phase is designed to align with the funding available through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Irelands (SEAI) better energy communities’ scheme (BEC). The Hub engages with communities seeking opportunities to reduce their carbon emissions. By pooling resources from many communities together the Hub is able to create projects of scale with multiple partners that attracts funding from the BEC scheme. The balance of the funding is provided either via bank loans, savings in energy and the sale of energy credits. NCE assesses the properties proposed by the communities, determines the amount of works needed to achieve a minimum B2 building energy rating (BER), the cost of the works and the likely sources of funding. NCE Energy Hub has help set up two other energy communities in Cork – The cathedral and Shandon SEC and the BGB SEC. In 2019 the hub collaborated with Credit Unions in Cork City and established (Green Loans) financial instrument for homeowners.
Expert opinion
This good practice describes what dedicated structures should do to effectively support energy communities. As explained in a recent Interreg Europe policy brief on ‘Skills for the energy transition’ (https://bit.ly/3yu23lA), by offering training, raising awareness on energy efficiency, helping citizens and SMEs identify energy saving potentials and mobilise financial resources to carry out energy efficiency interventions, dedicated structures like NCE-SEC in Ireland are one of the essential ‘ingredients’ enabling the transition. They are set to play a major role on the way to the recovery (as a great portion of the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility money will be allocated to the energy transition) and to facilitate the implementation of the Renovation Wave in the regions as well as the long-term renovation strategies adopted in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Local and regional authorities may certainly be inspired by this transferable good practice.
Resources needed
Communities, Energy inefficient homes and buildings, finance, person power, energy champions, additional contractors specialising in energy retrofitting
Evidence of success
Project results over the years:
2019: Harbour View road Cork (Social and private houses)– 78 houses, €2.95m, Energy Savings per anum 1,442,238kwh = 55% savings , A3 rating achieved
2018: Killenreendowney Estate (Social) – 50 social houses, €1,25m , Energy Savings per anum 1,077,962 kwh =47% savings , B1 rating achieved
2017: 54 apts + 5 houses in Glenamoy Lawn /46 x bungalows, €1,95m , Energy Savings per anum 1,491,682 kwh =43% savings , A3/B1 rating achieved
Potential for learning or transfer
These good practices are easily transferable to other regions of Europe. What is require is an organisation that can tap into the needs of several energy communities and assist them to identify, develop, finance, and implement energy saving projects in their community.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Northside Community Enterprise Sustainable Energy Community (NCESEC)