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The Excellence Awards Spotlight series showcases and celebrates each engineering project, organisation, third-level institute and engineering leader shortlisted for the 10th annual Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards, held in association with ESB. Today, the Excellence Awards spotlight series focuses on the Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award. 

Sponsored by Colas Bitumen Emulsions, the Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award is open to all local authorities to enter an engineering-led initiative which benefits the community in which it has been introduced.

The five initiatives shortlisted for the 2019 Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award are: 

  • Clare County Council Engineers to the Fore! Preparing for the Irish Open in Lahinch by Clare County Council
  • Mary Elmes Bridge by Cork City Council, Keating and Arup
  • East Tip Haulbowline Island Remediation Project by Cork County Council, RPS, PJ Hegarty & Sons and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
  • Skibbereen Flood Relief Scheme by Cork County Council, supported by the Office of Public Works, and in partnership with RPS and Jons Civil Engineering
  • Kilkenny StreetLight LED Retrofit Pilot Project by Kilkenny County Council in partnership with 3cea (3 Counties Energy Agency) and Hayes Higgins Partnership

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Kilkenny StreetLight LED Retrofit Pilot Project by Kilkenny County Council in partnership with 3cea (3 Counties Energy Agency) and Hayes Higgins Partnership.

Kilkenny County Council currently has a stock of over 11,000 streetlights. By the end of 2019, almost 55% of this street-lighting will be retrofitted with energy efficient LED lanterns reducing the annual lighting energy consumption by 50-70% which is key to achieving the Council’s 33% energy reduction target by 2020.

Kilkenny County Council’s participation in a three-year European Project entitled Streetlight EPC, directly led to the delivery of the Kilkenny Streetlight LED Retrofit pilot project in 2017, kick starting the ongoing energy efficiency retrofit of streetlighting, utilising the energy savings costs and grant aid to fund the works.

This resulted in:

  • Annual saving in excess of €150,000 for the lighting energy bill
  • Substantial C02 emission reductions and reduced maintenance costs

The success of the pilot project has allowed Kilkenny County Council to continue on its sustainability journey providing a catalyst for other Local Authorities to follow. It has enhanced the Council’s efforts to embed sustainability and energy efficiency into the organisation, encouraging the development of further projects including building energy retrofits comprising insulation improvements, heating upgrades and internal lighting.

For reference and more info see here: http://www.engineersireland.ie/Communications/Press-Archive/Excellence-Awards-Spotlight-Local-Authority-Engine.aspx