Limerick City & County Council was the first public body in Ireland to install Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) panels in 2008 and today has a total of 40 kW Solar PV panels, delivering a 20% improvement in energy efficiency.
Limerick also established the pilot 'Better Energy Homes' insulation programme in 2009. This scheme is now national and, at 25%, Limerick has the highest percentage of home upgrades in Ireland.
Limerick will be Ireland’s first EU Lighthouse City under a €20 million Horizon 2020 project called ‘Positive Energy City Exchange’. The programme is aiming, through a range of initiatives, to be on one of two European model cities – along with Trondheim in Norway – that will revolutionise how we produce and use energy in European cities and towns.
A significant part of the Positive Energy City Exchange project will involve citizen engagement on issues such as:
- Municipality-led Bold City Vision and Guidelines
- Community-led open innovation
- Implementation of an innovation playground
- Potential for energy trading market
- Local flexibility market
- Sustainable investment
The main impacts of climate change on Limerick City are predicted to be:
- An increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. To that end, Limerick City and County Council is preparing a Climate Adaptation Strategy
- An increased risk of flooding in the city. As a result, Limerick City is included in the National Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management project.
To improve energy performance, LCEA has organised several local, regional and national events including:
- Sustainable Energy Solutions Conference in partnership with the University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology.
- Building energy efficiency and energy rating training workshops
- Public lighting training workshops
- Renewable energy in agriculture
- Marine renewable energy technologies