Switched on Schools Lights up NEMEX Awards
A joint project between Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Education and Library Boards in Northern Ireland and Solarcentury, the UKs leading supplier of solar energy systems, Switched on Schools aims to install solar photovoltaic panels at 21 rural schools throughout Northern Ireland.
The award, which seeks to recognise the pioneering approaches employed within the renewable energy industry, is awarded to the individual or organisation that shows the most innovative approach towards the installation of a small scale, embedded renewable system. The award organisers noted that:
The reason Northern Ireland Electricity was chosen was for the installation of photovoltaic panels in schools is not a new concept. What is new is that an energy company took the initiative, and had the vision to use a large number of installations to create a virtual user network a virtual power station is the concept this scheme uses. The linking of 41 schools via a website provides an excellent teaching, demonstration and dissemination resource, which benefits the school children, teachers and the wider community.
The project also developed local capacity building to strengthen the fledgling renewable energy installation industry, which should bring longer-term benefits to the local economy. It is the context of this project that makes it particularly exciting, pulling together diverse and spread out rural communities to engage in a common cause of improving the environment.
Andrew Baird, Northern Ireland Regional Sales Manager for Solarcentury, comments: Switched on Schools is an extremely important project, and Solarcentury are proud to be a part of such a forward looking initiative. Helping schools gain access to solar energy is not only good for the environment, but also has a positive impact on the pupils attitudes towards energy use. The NEMEX award recognises this, and is a welcome acknowledgment of the initiatives achievements.