Project co-ordinator, Sean Lyons, speaks to Silicon Republic in Ireland about smart energy communities and their impact in the transition to renewables.
SiliconRepublic.com first launched in 2001 and has gone from being Ireland’s No 1 resource for science and technology news to one of the leading online publications in Europe with 250,000 sessions each month. Rebecca Graham, Production Editor, spoke to Sean Lyons about piloting energy parks and how “conducting these pilots is the most effective way to develop a solution that works”.
Article excerpt:
“Smart energy communities could be a ‘game-changer’ in the transition to renewables, says SETU’s Sean Lyons.“
We all know how important big solar farms and onshore and offshore wind farms are in the increasingly urgent transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies, but what about small, smart energy parks?
The idea behind these small energy parks is that you put energy generation as close as possible to where it is used.
Sean Lyons gives the example of an industrial park with 50 companies. None of these hypothetical companies is big enough to develop renewables on its own but together there is enough energy demand to develop a small energy park.
Now, Lyons says, it makes sense to develop a renewable energy park with wind, solar and batteries to suit what he calls the “energy load profile” of the combined companies. This site will have a smart software system that can predict and optimise energy use and storage to suit the day-to-day needs of the businesses connected to the park.
