Plan will help Mullingar cut energy bills

A list of approximately 10 key actions that should see all of Mullingar cut its energy use by 51 per cent by 2030 are all contained in a new ‘Energy Master Plan’ for Mullingar unveiled last Wednesday week.

“The Energy Master Plan looks at our ‘energy baselines’ – or how much energy we’re using in the town, and it gives a clear pathway to how we can reduce that energy usage and source it from more sustainable sources,” explains Dr Isabella Donnelly of the Mullingar Sustainable Energy Community (MSEC).

Dr Donnelly said it is the ambition of MSEC to follow through on the actions to reduce the town’s energy spend.

That, Dr Donnelly said, would involve measures such as encouraging homeowners to retrofit their homes; giving advice on what grants are available; promoting a greater level of solar panel installation on community buildings; preparing case studies on the “fantastic” work being done by a number of local businesses to show other firms what can be done.

The plan was 100 per cent funded through the Sustainable Energy Authority’s Sustainable Energy community initiative, which enabled the Mullingar Sustainable Energy Community to pay for consultants to conduct the analysis and identify how to save on energy usage.

“It looked at the residential sector in the town; at the non-domestic sector – so it looked at industry, commercial and community buildings, community centres, etc. And then it looked at transport as well.”

Dr Donnelly hopes that now that the plan has been prepared, it will be easier to raise awareness and demystify the process. Some other practical strategies being considered include trying to negotiate discount when a number of homeowners band together to get the same work done, and also, potentially getting a solar ‘meitheal’ together.