Seminar heldat Guildhall on ways for businesses to save on energy bills
The ‘Opportunity to Save Energy’ seminar, which was led by Derry City and Strabane District Council, with support from the Smarter Energy Communities in Northern and Arctic Regions (SECURE) Project and the Stardust Project, coincided with European Sustainable Energy Week, EUSEW, which took place 6-8th June.
The theme for this year focused on ‘leading the clean energy transition’ and raising everyone’s awareness about the sustainable energy sector and the opportunities open within the market.
The seminar focused on two key aspects of benefit to local business and community organisations, with information available on the different energy efficiency and renewable energy actions available and how they can support existing businesses.
Leo Strawbridge, Council’s Energy Manager, welcomed attendees to the event stressing the importance of implementing innovative energy solutions.
“We all know that businesses are facing increasing challenges in terms of the local economy and managing costly overheads.
“Improving energy efficiency and seeking out renewable sources of energy are easy ways of saving money and protecting the local environment.
“The event will hopefully raise a bit more awareness of the options which are available to local companies and encourage them to consider more sustainable energy sources.”
Clare Campbell, Accommodation Manager with the City Hotel Derry, shared her experiences on how green initiatives, like building management system (BMS) controls and staff behaviour engagement and training, enabled the hotel to receive numerous awards including the Green Tourism Gold Award and Sustainable NI award.
A number of representatives of the energy sector also gave their views on how smarter energy consumption and renewable energy and actions on energy efficiency can help businesses and communities save money, whilst reducing their energy use and carbon emissions.
Businesses were offered guidance on the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions in buildings and public infrastructures within Northern Ireland’s remote and sparsely populated areas as well as within Derry.
To find out more about the SECURE Project, see secure.interreg-npa.eu
Tags: