HORIZON-EIC-2023-iCapitalPrize - The European Capital of Innovation Awards
EU Prizes: Application form (prizes) The European Capital of Innovation Awards: V1.0 – 08.03.2023
panels. Cork City Council has installed photovoltaic cells and hybrid storage systems which merge batteries and storage heaters in 10 houses in two socially disadvantaged areas of the city. The heaters will provide heat on demand and the batteries will store output from the solar panels as well as low- carbon energy (wind/solar) drawn from the national grid at times of low demand. This will be enabled using new ‘smart’ technology through which the house's hybrid storage systems will be able to communicate with the grid and will remove the mismatch between generation and usage. A home control system automatically makes decisions on storage based on local energy usage, the price of electricity, weather forecasts and the grid’s current CO2 intensity. The purpose of the p roject is to see how these components interact to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. As a result of this project, it is predicted that up to 20 tons of CO2 will be removed from the atmosphere in Cork city each year. The results and impact of these innovative projects are assessed following implementation and best practice learnings are integrated into the wider retrofitting program and shared with members of the public through the Home Energy Upgrade Office.
Home Energy Upgrade Office
The Home Energy Upgrade Office, situated in Cork City Centre, offers members of the public information on home energy efficiency upgrades that can be achieved to reduce their carbon emissions. The office was developed by Cork City Council with support from Sustainable Authority of Ireland, IERC, Tyndall National Institute and UCC. It is funded by two EU projects – ‘Upstairs’ and ‘Intensify’. Upstairs (Uplifting Energy Communities) targets the creation of energy communities and is funded by the EU’s Horizo n 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. An energy community is a collective
action targeting energy efficiency across homes, community centres and other projects within the community. The Upstairs project is also developing an online portal to answer any questions from the staff in the office. The Intensify Project is funded by the EU’s Interreg Europe Programme and aims to engage the public and empower them with the knowledge to reduce their carbon emissions through energy efficiency upgrade measures.
Electric Vehicle Fleet
In 2020, Cork City Council took the lead nationally by investing in 76 electric vehicles, creating the biggest local authority EV fleet in the country. The deployment of these EVs has reduced the City Council’s reliance on fossil fue l by approx. 110,000 litres of diesel per year. As the vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions, CO2 and Carbon has been reduced by an estimated 270 tonnes annually. Noise pollution will also be reduced. The running costs of the electric vehicles will be approx. 30% of diesel vehicles. The deployment of these vehicles has demonstrated that EVs are viable within local authority fleets. Cork City Council’s Community Climate Action Programme 2021/2022 - A Bottom-Up Approach to Governance and Climate Action Cork City Council understands the role citizens must play in tackling some of our biggest issues, as a result, the involvement of civil society through the Quadruple Helix model of Innovation has led to more bottom-up approaches, this is key to unlocking the potential and creativity of our citizens to solve the issues we face. In conjunction with the Cork City Public Participation Network, the City Council has partnered with Cork Environmental Forum to work with several communities across the city to develop bottom-up local Community Climate Action Plans. Acknowledging the key role all sectors need to play to address these challenges, this programme aims to help the city and its citizens deal with the current and future climate change and biodiversity crises. The Action Programme aims to assist communities through a series of workshops to develop a 2 – 3-year Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan for their local area.
Sustainable Travel: Electric Bikes and Cargo Bike Library
Cork City Council aims to encourage more sustainable travel. It has made a number of electric bikes
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