Global energy students bring expertise to Mayo’s Erris region

A group of 20 postgraduate students from the University of Flensburg have arrived in Erris as part of a community renewable energy initiative which will see them carry out research, offer advice and engage directly with local residents.

The students have spent the past number of months studying the Erris region as part of a community energy module, before travelling to Mayo to take part in a series of workshops and site visits.

Professor Dr. Bernd Moller said the masters course, which focuses on community renewable energy, is highly competitive, with 460 applications submitted for this year’s programme.

“Only 20 students were accepted,” he said.

The group is made up of students from across the globe, including Colombia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Iran, Egypt, Nepal, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Thailand and Mongolia.

Many of the participants have previously worked as engineers in their home countries, gaining experience through state agencies, international companies and NGOs.

Their expertise has already been put to use locally, with the students undertaking a number of site visits to key renewable energy developments, including the community-owned solar farm in Claremorris as well as the Oweninny Wind Farm.

They have also been holding Saturday morning workshops at the Irish Wheelchair Association facility in Belmullet, where community members have been encouraged to share their views on renewable energy and the challenges they face with energy costs.

At the first workshop, locals brought ESB bills to demonstrate the cost of heating and lighting their homes.

The second session involved a collaborative survey exercise where attendees outlined their priorities for both their own homes and the wider community in relation to renewable energy projects.

Participants were asked to rank their goals as short-term, medium-term or long-term, before voting on what they believed was most important.

Separate polls were held for community and individual priorities, with respondents asked to identify whether environmental, social, financial, practical or technical factors mattered most.

Another vote asked residents to select what they considered the biggest priority among issues such as ownership, supporting local jobs, social acceptance and helping vulnerable people.

A final interactive exercise saw residents raise “green flags” and “red flags” on a range of hot-button topics, including whether Erris already has enough wind turbines, the concept of district heating powered by a community heat-pump, and proposals for community-owned renewable energy projects.

In addition to their renewable energy work, a number of the students have also been tasked with assisting on a major community project – the development of a business case plan for a swimming pool in Erris.

Councillor Gerry Coyle met with the group at the first workshop, following that engagement, work is now underway on a proposal aimed at securing an indoor swimming facility for the region using renewable energy.

The lack of such a facility has been raised repeatedly at public meetings and at council level, with locals currently forced to travel to Mulranny, Ballina or Castlebar.

Professor Dr. Bernd Moller praised the work of SEAI’s Dr. Orla Nic Suibhne for her help in arranging the visit as they work collaboratively on implementing the community energy masterplan for the Erris region.

The students’ final workshop, which will include a presentation of their findings, will take place on February 14 at 10 a.m. at the Irish Wheelchair Association facility in Belmullet.