Sustainable Energy

The Authority plans to explore the development of an Energy Management Agency for the Midland Region. The Authority will work closely with Laois County Council in progressing this initiative. The Authority also intends to submit a proposal under Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) to fund the creation of local energy agency. The new IEE 2007 call for proposals was published in April 2007 and the deadline for submissions is the 28th September.

The main objectives of creating a local energy agency are:

To contribute to the implementation and future development of EU, national, local and regional policies, strategies and legislation for promoting action by householders, businesses (especially SMEs) and the public sector to improve energy efficiency and increase use of renewables, especially in buildings and transport (including biofuels).
To create a critical mass of local activity and achieve local economies of scale in order to reduce the costs of energy efficiency and renewable energy systems.
To change citizens' behaviour and improve the quality of local/regional decision-making on implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy systems.
To increase levels of investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy services at local and regional levels.
To promote establishment, public financing and use of local energy agencies by public authorities as a vital tool for achieving these objectives.