© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie)
Wind Power and Biomass Heating Projects
Seamus Hoyne, TEA and Tipperary Institute
RETScreen Annual Conference and
Training Institute,
Niagara Falls, Canada
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© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie)
Presentation Contents
• About the TEA
• Templederry Wind Project
• Eco Village Biomass District Heating
• Some other projects
• RETScreen and Training
• Conclusions
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About TEA
• Established in 1998
• Partnership between North and South Tipperary County
Councils and Tipperary Institute
• 7 staff
• Has been involved in implemented projects with
cumulative value of over €25m.
• Leading Local Energy Agency in Ireland and EU
© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie) 3
© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie)
Templederry Wind Farm - Status
• First community owned wind farm in Ireland
– (37 community members)
• Started discussions with TEA in 1999
• Has taken huge personnel commitment from
community to get project to implementation
• TEA completed feasibility, planning, wind resource
assessment, financial analysis
• Construction to start this year
• 2 x 2.3 MW Enercon Machines
• Total Cost €6m
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Templederry Wind Farm & RETScreen
– Initial feasibility on 20 sites (desk top)
– Pre-feasibility on 3 sites (site and desk top)
– Project development tool
• Financial viability
• Turbine selection
• Project Finance Negotiations
– Without RETScreen this project would not have happened
as the community did not have finances to recruit consultants
initially.
– RETScreen very valuable in financial negotiations
– “RETscreen translated windspeed, hub heights, power
contracts, capital costs etc into reality” – John Fogarty, Chair
Templederry Community Wind Farm © Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie)
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Eco Village District Heating - Status
• First Eco Village in Ireland (www.thevillage.ie)
• Sustainable community
– Food, Energy, Enterprise
• Members Cooperative purchased site in 2005
• 130 eco homes, permaculture as a core principle
• Analysis completed, using RETScreen, in 2005 to
confirm which is most appropriate energy supply system
• Biomass (1MW) and Solar (506m2) selected as energy
supply system, operational since March 2010
• 50 houses will be completed soon
© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie) 6
Eco Village District Heating & RETScreen
• Feasibility study allowed selection of
appropriate technology
• Has been used to challenge consultants/
installers proposals
• Will be used to check system performance (after sufficient data
gathered)
• Has been used as a Model for RETScreen training.
© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie) 7
Tipperary Institute & RETScreen
• Energy Management Plan developed
– with TEA as consultants
• Biomass Heating identified as strategically and
financially important action
• RETScreen Models produced for Energy
Efficiency and Biomass Heating
– Lighting, Heating Controls and Insulation
Upgrades completed in 2009
– Biomass Boiler (300kW) to be installed in
August 2011
© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie) 8
Derek Blackweir, Facilities Manager “ TEA used RETScreen to provide
me with data to plan our Energy Management Actions. We expect to
reduce our energy costs by 30% this year”
Other Projects
• Municipal Pools
– RETScreen used to model
biomass heating system in two swimming pools
– Total of 800kW to be installed.
• Nenagh Biomass District Heating
– Initial analysis shows potential
but finance will be the key challenge
– Research (Masters Thesis)
being completed using RETScreen
– System supplying 75GWh per annum
© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie) 9
Why TEA uses RETScreen for Implementation
• Fast and efficient
– Eliminates non viable projects quickly
– maximises resources
• Flexible
– Models different scenarios
• Robust
– Significant experience and knowledge
to confirm validity of results
• Financial data
– Invaluable for planning projects and
seeking Management approval
© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie) 10
RETScreen Training
• Vital for implementation
• Tipperary Institute and TEA have provided
training to over 200 people to date
– Engineers
– Architects
– Planners
– Can’t believe I didn’t know about
RETScreen before – I wasted days
trying to develop my own DH model !!”
RETScreen Participant
• On-line course currently being developed
(flexible learning). © Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie)
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Conclusion
• RETScreens TEA to perform analysis quickly,
effectively and produces results that clients
understand
• Being able to present technical and financial
data in one package to decision makers is
key to moving from paper to project
• RETScreen will be part of new TI programme
BSc in Computing - Smart Sustainable
Energy
• It is clear that linking energy data with
data/information systems is next step in
implementation © Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie)
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© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd (www.tea.ie)
Thank you.
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© Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd
(www.tea.ie)
Contacts
• Tipperary Energy
Agency
• Craft Granary
• Church St
• Cahir
• Co. Tipperary
• Ireland
• Seamus Hoyne
• Managing Director
• T: +353 52 7443090
• F: +353 52 7443012
• E: [email protected]
• W: www.tea.ie
• Find us on Facebook
• @tippenergy
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