Gaotha go Rothaí / Wind to Wheels
Written by Eamon Ó Cuív Friday, 14 January 2011
Friday 14 January 2011, 11.30am Aran IslandsI am very pleased to be here at Inis Mór Co-Op Offices for the launch of this initiative Wind to Wheels at the invitation of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs.
This event marks the launch of an exciting new 3 year pilot project to investigate the use of electric vehicles to store wind and ocean power on the Aran Islands. Gaotha go Rothaí (or Wind to Wheels) sees eight electric vehicles operating on the islands of Aran (deployed to homes today) for a period of three years. Six vehicles will be deployed on Inis Mór with one each on Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr.
A new smart charge point has been developed specially for this project which will be fitted in up to 24 homes on the islands. The pilot as I have said will be run for 3 years with 8 different trial users each year totalling 24 over the period. The first 8 users to participate in the pilot have been selected and I know some of you are here today.
These networked smart charge points will control how much wind energy is stored in each vehicle while ensuring sufficient electricity is always provided for the driver’s needs. In this way the Aran Islands, and Ireland, can maximise its future use of variable wind and ocean power while substantially reducing imports of fossil energy.
This pilot project is the first demonstration of its kind and will be used to perfect the technologies and methods necessary to store large amounts of wind and ocean power in Ireland’s future transport and heating systems. It is a hugely proactive step for the Aran Islands and will have interest across the world.
This project aims to show the potential for electric vehicles charged by wind energy to meet the transport requirements – under what you all know can be the difficult access conditions of an island environment. It will assess the efficiency, reliability and maintainability of the vehicles and the potential for locally generated wind power to supply the electricity requirements for the vehicles.
I really welcome this development that has come about through a Pilot Study on Renewable Energy for the Aran Islands which I was very pleased to announce in November 2008 with my cabinet colleague Éamon Ryan TD – Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Aran is a particularly useful test-bed as the Islands have an abundance of wind power and mainly domestic consumers. (Indeed as Minister in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, in March 2008 I also launched the first electric mini bus on the islands on Inis Oírr, a project established by Comhar Caomhán).
Island communities may sometimes feel that they are among the last to benefit from new technologies, but in this instance the people of Aran are to the forefront in pioneering an innovative and novel concept that offers tangible benefits in terms of reduced energy costs and a decreased reliance on imported fuel. Participating households will benefit from a transport fuel cost saving of up to 80%.
This is only one step in a larger project to show how wind and ocean energy might be used to provide the electricity, heat and transport requirements for the Aran Islands. By demonstrating the benefits of reduced energy import reliance and costs, the islands could also serve as a learning model for the future energy system for the whole of Ireland.
Under Government plans to put 6,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2012, a grant of €5,000 is now available for the purchase of electric vehicles. This project on the Aran Islands is a significant step, and is among the first initiatives worldwide to demonstrate the potential for electric vehicles fuelled by wind energy.
SEAI and Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs have actually three exciting energy related projects under way for the Aran Islands:
The overall concept study which as I mentioned earlier was launched back in November 2008 to investigate the potential for wind and ocean power to supply the majority of the power, heat and transport requirements for the islands and to reduce the energy imports on the island. This study is nearly completed and will be published by February 2011. A self sustaining energy system would be of enormous benefit to the economy of the islands, would create jobs, boost tourism and provide models of course for the improved use of our rich natural resources for the whole of the island of Ireland.
This Electric Vehicle demonstration project. Inis Mór as you know has a main road of 15km from the airstrip in the south to the north tip. Average daily commutes of 30km are experienced with annual mileage of 6,000 – 10,000km and a maximum speed of 50kph permitted. You the islanders are dependent on imported fuel and spare parts for transport. Electric Vehicles (EV) offer the chance of reducing transport fuel consumption and transport fuel costs by up to 80%.
The third project is a Community Energy Efficiency Working Group. The goals of the group are to generate community wide group applications to a SEAIs Home Energy Savings Scheme through which Island residents can receive 50% higher grant amounts than mainland dwellers.
To conclude, I am confident that the lessons to be learned from the use of electric vehicles on the Aran Islands over the next three years will benefit many other communities throughout the country. I would like to congratulate all those who have been working hard on this project in recent months, especially the island residents and officials of SEAI and my former Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. I am confident that this exciting project will serve to show us all how energy independence will secure our future. Ireland has one of the strongest wind and ocean energy resources in Europe and we need to examine all the possible ways of making the best use of sustainable resources.
Thank you all very much.
