There are various social and environmental projects happening in the Carlow / Kilkenny area that are associated with the local Green Party. These are summarized below with links to project updates.

Future Proof Kilkenny

FPK was established in December 2007 to raise awareness and provide information on the issues of Climate Change and Oil Peak. The group host events at local level to both inform and initiate discussions on what communities can do to reduce their energy needs. So far they have been following the framework laid out by the Transition Towns initiative.
More information can be found on www.FutureProofKilkenny.org

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POWER OF ONE

Declan Ryan, C/K Greens is spearheading an Energy Conservation Challenge
based on the Power of One Campaign in Carlow.

The power of one campaign has made a valuable contribution to increasing the efficiency with which energy is used throughout Ireland. It has been used primarily at national level based on advertising on national radio, television and Internet. This is effective in reaching a large number of people quickly but has limited impact on individuals.

Promotion of Power-of-One principles on the doorstep is likely to be more effective with individuals than any advertisements on television but it will require many man-hours to make a significant impact on a town such as Carlow.

Click through to learn more about this local initiative or Power of One

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27, 28 & 29 OCT, 2007 GOWRAN PARK, GOWRAN, CO KILKENNY

GREEN ENERGY FAIR 2007

Please note: Agenda may be subject to change

ADGENDA for Saturday 27 October

MAIN CONFERENCE ROOM on the second floor

15.00 Official opening and talk about the future of energy in Ireland followed by questions & answers by Eamon Ryan, Minister for Energy, Communications and Natural Resources 16.30 Talk about solar solutions

17.30 European expert James O’Toole will speak about the pellet market from a European perspective

OWNERS AND TRAINERS BAR on the first floor

14.15 Film ‘The End of Suburbia’

16.00 ‘Micro Turbines – their time has arrived!’ - Talk about wind energy by Gene Hourihane

17.00 ‘Perspective on Biofuel ‘ by Michael Prendergast

ADGENDA for Sunday 28 October

MAIN CONFERENCE ROOM on the second floor

12.00 Geothermal heating, pros and cons

13.00 Talk about solar solutions by Eugune McGuckin

14.00 Wind energy by Gene Hourihane

15.00 Growing crops for Biomass – Teagasc

16.00 ‘ Combining renewable energies for the home and business’ by Colm Byrne

OWNERS AND TRAINERS BAR on the first floor

11.00 Film ‘Escape from Suburbia’

12.15 ‘ Wood fueled boilers for the home’ with Martin Ecker

13.15 Film ‘The Local Project’ … Sustainable community forest project in Co Leitrim, film by Cathy Fitzgerald

14.00 ‘ Hemp - A widely used European sustainable building material’ by Grant Hutchinson

15.00 Kacheloffens – ‘ Heating your home the European way’ by Wolfgang Bauer

16.00 ‘The use of lime in building‘ by Edward Byrne

ADGENDA for Monday 29 October

MAIN CONFERENCE ROOM on the second floor

12.00 ‘The importance of insulation in the home’

13.00 ‘Solar solutions’ followed by questions and answers

14.00 Talk by Duncan Stewart followed by questions and answers

15.30 ‘Renewable energy solutions and crops’ by a Teagasc expert

16.30 ‘ Combining renewable energies for the home and business’ by Colm Byrne

OWNERS AND TRAINERS BAR on the first floor

11.30 ‘ Oil seed rape as biofuel crop’ by Michael Prendergast

12.30 Talk about harnessing energy from wind

13.30 ‘Kacheloffens - Heating your home the European way’ by Wolfgang Bauer

14.30 Film ‘The Local Project’ … Sustainable community forest project in Co Leitrim, film by Cathy Fitzgerald

15.30 ‘Passive and low energy housing design’ by Thomas O’Leary

16.30 ‘ Wood fueled boilers for the home’ by Martin Ecker

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Event Organiser, Nicola Brown, with Colm Byrne of Glas- one of the speakers on woodpellet and solar systems, with Mary White Deputy Leader of the Green Party

GREEN ENERGY FAIR 2006
A RESOUNDING SUCCESS
The Green Energy Fair organised by the Carlow / Kilkenny Green Party at Gowran Park over the Bank Holiday weekend was a resounding success .So said Green Party Deputy Leader, Cllr. Mary White. “The Green Energy Fair was a huge success in that homeowners, farmers and business interests were able to access information on biomass, solar, geothermal, wood chip and pellet boilers. The Fair was officially opened by Duncan Stewart and there was sanding room only for his talk on renewable energy and the need for Irish fuel security.

With the recent hike in fuel, oil and ESB prices the consumer is acutely aware that the most frightening post that flops through the letter box are our fuel bills. Ireland currently meets more than 87% of it’s fuel needs through fossil fuels and depends very heavily on fossil imports. We ,here in Ireland are at the end of a very long gas pipe line from Siberia . If anything should happen to our fuel security Ireland would undoubtedly suffer.”

Cllr. White added, “As Duncan Stewart himself said ” Oil is now fluctuating between 70 and 80 dollars a barrel. In a few years time we will be saying ” Wasn’t that cheap!”

Ireland is uniquely exposed to global energy shocks because 87% of our energy comes from imported fossil fuels. - which is almost twice the European average,. We need to protect our economy from fuel scarcity. The Green Energy Fair at Gowran Park showed how farmers can increase their incomes, how homeowners can save money and curb our greenhouse gas emissions and young couples who wish to build their dream home can now do so with energy saving methods of buildings and heating systems.”.

Cllr. White concluded, “Now is the time to put pressure on the Government to adopt new and forward thinking energy policies. The Green Party believes that Ireland has some of the best conditions for wind, wave and biomass power and we should be creating thousands of jobs by developing these resources. This will provide our Country with a secure energy future and help us tackle climate change”

Greener Homes Scheme (Come to the 2007 Green Energy Fair for the latest details) :
Good news for energy-conscious people in Ireland - Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI ) is now offering various grants for energy conservation and the installation of renewable energy technology both for householders, large and small businesses.Before applying, interested people are advised to read the scheme application guide as there are some conditions that must be met to qualify for a grant (www.sei.ie). Application forms can be sent to Greener Homes Scheme, Sustainable Energy Ireland, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

OIL PRICES WHAT CAN BE DONE ?

Cllr Mary White seeking to locate a bio-refinery in Carlow

With oil prices reaching new historic highs, it is time for us to break our increasing dependency on imported fossil fuels in Ireland Our use of oil has almost doubled over the last fifteen years. Although gas has replaced oil in the generation of electricity, we still use oil for 54% of all our energy needs - particularly in the area of heating and transport.

With car sales continuing to rise, we seem to be addicted to fossil fuels, regardless of the dramatic rise in oil prices. We need Government action to help us break that habit before oil prices hit e100 a barrel. The recent dispute between Russia and the Ukraine shows how vulnerable we are in Ireland to a European energy crisis.

Colm Byrne, Glas
Brandon McLane, Oracle Building
Mary White, Deputy Leader Green Party with John Quinn, CEO, Surface Power Technologies
Mary White’s car runs on local Kilkenny biofuel, derived from rape seed, supporting new local industry and local farmers
photo: Bernie McCoy Cllr Mary White, Dept Leader Green Party, in a miscanthus grass crop - Bernard Rice of Teagasc spoke on miscanthus and other biomass crops and forestry, Sun 29th, 1 pm, Gowran Park

Saturday 28 October 2006

3.30pm Official Opening & Talk by Duncan Stewart

4.40 pm Colm Byrne, GLAS, Green Logical Alternative Solutions, spoke on wood pellet and solar energy systems

5.50 pm Michael Prendergast, Kilkenny Cereals Ltd- spoke on biofuels, from growing crops, quota information, to producing and using biofuel

6.00 pm Brandon McLane -Oracle Natural Building -spoke on straw bale and cob building

7.00 pm Colm Lawler, Ecoheat spoke on Geothermal systems

Sunday 29 October 2006

11.30 am John Quinn, CEO Surface Power Technologies spoke on Wind Energy ‘Plenty of Wind’

John Quinn is an electronics and finance graduate with 16 years experience in general, operations and global manufacturing management, including several interim management roles to vice-president level in the US & Europe with International PLC’s.John is currently founder and CEO of Surface Power Technologies, a leader in developing next generation renewable technologies.

1 pm Bernard Rice, Teagasc spoke on biomass and Forestry and information for growers

2.30pm Gerald O’Donoghue, Igneus, spoke on wood pellet and solar systems

4 pm Michael Prendergast, Kilkenny Cereals Ltd-
spoke on biofuels, from growing crops, quota info to producing and using biofuel

Brandon McLane -Oracle Natural Building -straw bale and cob building, 0863845332 and 0599727858

Feilim Hearty - Reed Bed Systems

ENFO - please note while we tried to obtain info literature from ENFO for this event, it did not arrive

The Local Planet

SEI Sustainable Energy Ireland - public information on all energy types and accessing government grants - please note, we were only provided with a limited abount of brochures. Apologies if these had run out when you attended. Please check their website for further info.

Teagasc - biomass, forestry information for farmers, landowners, producers

Green Energy Growers Association GEGA - links energy growers with end producers

Kilkenny Cereals, Michael Prendergast, Biofuels

Quinns of Baltinglass- Miscanthus crops, info on quotas etc for farmers

EcoHeat - geothermal systems

Ecologics Solar Solutions - solar, geothermal systems and more

Ecotherm Environmental Solutions

Fire Centre, Kilkenny - ABS pellet silos & pellet boilers

Fraber Enterprises - wood pellet, 057 9332808. fraber @indigo.ie

Glas -G reen L ogical A lternative S olutions - woodchip, solar, and more

Heat Merchants Kilkenny - geothermal, wood pellet, solar and heat pumps Tel:. 056 7755055. Fax: 056 775506011

Igneus Ltd - biomass, wood pellet & solar

Koldtech Engineering Systems- geothermal, 0504 516 52. koldtech @eircom.net

Mulberry Home Heating - stoves

Maple Marketing - wood pellet, 021 4968388. www.heatmaster.ie, maple @indigo.ie

Monroe Renewable Resources -geothermal, solar, passive windows, sheep wool insulation

Off the Grid -woodpellet systems and more, (059) 9725500. m (086) 3873173. e info@offthegrid.ie.

One Stop Green - geothermal, wood pellet, solar systems

Renewable Energy Solutions Ltd - solar, wood pellet

Surface Power Technologies - grid connected solar PV complete system, including licence & ESB networks connection approval - utility systems to slow down your meter (won New Product award of the Show Award at the Irish Sustainable Buiding Show)

Sunstream Energy - solar systems and innovative wind turbines

Brown Moutain Eco-Log Homes

Recent events

Wed 30 AugGreen Party celebrates 2006 Heritage Week with a Heritage Talk - local artist Brian Hand will talk on ‘The Rock Art of the Blackstairs Mountains‘, 7.30pm@ Carlow IT, ALL WELCOME

1 June 2006 Renewable Energy Seminar, New Park Hotel - large crowd gathered in the NewPark Hotel, Kilkenny, to hear leading experts, more events to be organised in this area.

Saturday 10th June Thanks to all for making the Family walk on Mt Leinster & BBQ fundraiser, such a success.

Tuesday April 4th 2006 Cllr Mary White will be speaking on Anti Social Behaviour in the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow, 8pm. Guest Speakers Cllr. Chris OLeary (Cork) and other speakers to be confirmed. All welcome.

Friday, 21 April, 2006, 8pm: Local Carlow Kilkenny Green Party Pub Quiz fundraiser evening, Lawlers Pub, Bagenalstown - €20 for a table, monster lucky dip raffle and lots more fun, ALL WELCOME
Cllr Mary White will be opening the Home Economics Teachers Association of Ireland Conference at the Arboretum. Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow..

March 16th 2006 Cllr Mary White will be speaking in Killedmond Church, Borris, Co Carlow on Protecting the Environment for the Next Generation for St Patrick’s Day celebrations 2006.

TUESDAY MARCH 14TH 2006, Carlow Fair Trade Coffee morning
SEVEN OAKS HOTEL 11am. To coincide with Fair Trade Fortnight we are hosting a Coffee Morning to which all restaurants, hotels, coffee shops in Carlow Town have been invited. Carlow town is seeking Fair Trade status and we are delighted with the progress that we are making .

FURTHER INFORMATION CLLR. MARY WHITE DEPUTY LEADER GREEN PARTY
MEMBER OF CARLOW FAIR TRADE COMMITTEE 087 270 71 89