FREE Sales Academy Conference scheduled by Fermanagh & Omagh District Council

As part of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s continued commitment to supporting businesses in the area, the Economic Development section has scheduled a FREE Sales Academy Conference.

Date:                     Thursday 13th September 2018

Time:                    09:15am – 3:00pm

Venue:                 Manor House Country Hotel, Killadeas, Enniskillen, BT94 1NY

The Sales Academy Conference intends to support our businesses to be as effective and efficient in selling as they can be. Sales is key to sustainability and growth across all business sectors from manufacturing, construction and financial services to renewables, tourism and food & drink but how we buy and therefore how we sell is going through many changes.

Join other business professionals, marketers and salespeople who are passionate about and invested in generating tangible revenue growth for their businesses. Through the Masterclass series, hear from industry leaders how to evaluate and improve your sales strategies with tools such as networking, eCommerce and Communication.

Keynote speaker, Alan Shortt, will finish out the day exploring how the art of communication and storytelling impacts on sales.  Combining the latest research in Neuroscience, Human Behavioural Habits and Basic Communication Skills, Alan uses his accents and characters to explore how we, Men and Women, communicate with each other. He brings his audience on a journey of discovery, explaining how we read body language, interpret vocal tones and react to emotions.

During the Conference, the Council will launch details of two new business support programmes part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Register Here

City Led Regional Development and Peripheral Regions – Register Now

The Western Development Commission is delighted to be sponsoring this year’s Regional Studies Association-Irish Branch Annual Conference, together with IT Sligo and the Northern & Western Regional Assembly. 

The theme is “City Led Regional Development and Peripheral Regions”. Speakers will examine how urban areas interact with their rural regions and whether the development of the city or urban area leads to wider development.  The conference takes place at the Institute of Technology Sligo on Friday 7^th September. Register here.

Two international experts, Dr Andrew Copus from the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen and Professor Mark Partridge, the C. William Swank Chair of Rural-Urban Policy at The Ohio State University, will present other countries’ experience on this theme and stimulate debate about the reality of “city led development”.

Issues in Ireland will be examined in other sessions focusing on the history of Irish planning, the development of regional strategies, the trickle-down effects of urban centres and what regional accounts can tell us about our regional economies. Academics from MU, UL, DCU, DIT and UCC will be joined by policymakers from the WDC, NWRA and IDA Ireland.

With the draft Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies of Project Ireland 2040 soon to be issued for public consultation, this conference offers a great opportunity to debate the future of regional development in Ireland.

Detailed Conference Information can be accessed here (including speaker bios, directions, and accommodation).

Register here for the conference (€70 including lunch) and come along and join in the debate.

Renewables project aims to continue EES in North Karelia

The Finnish Forest Centre and Karelia UAS have applied for a project, Renewables – Sustainable Energy Economy in North Karelia – from the Rural Development Programme. The project continues on from the successful work of regional Power from Biomass project, completed in June 2018, and the GREBE project ending this month.

The Renewables project will support the establishment of micro clusters in renewable energy, especially based on biomass (wood and biogas). The project will continue the GREBE service, Entrepreneur Enabler Scheme, by organising tailored mentoring for 8 rural businesses in 2019-2021.

The Renewables will work for the regional renewable energy by supporting the development of biogas production, establishing and supporting the cooperation between energy entrepreneurs especially in firewood supply, introducing new innovations to reduce fine particle emissions, and supporting rural enterprises in sustainable product and service development.  The Renewables will have much benefit from GREBE project results, providing vast knowledge base on renewable energy technologies and supports.

The Renewables supports micro clusters of RE enterprises. Their cooperation aims can be e.g. in establishing joint raw material procurements, joint investment projects, or development of new products/services. In GREBE the EES Service and mentoring process provided successful results in a number of cases. The piloted process has proven to be effective and can be replicated with new participants. The funding applied, can be based on Innovation vouchers (2019) and ERDF funding targeted for enterprises.

The Renewables is scheduled to start in January 2019, and is coordinated by the Finnish Forest Centre. The project will organise active collaboration with international renewable energy research and development, such as starting NPA project Handiheat.

Technology/Knowledge Transfer Cases

One aim of the GREBE project is to promote knowledge sharing and information exchange between actors in renewable energy supply and demand. Transnational sharing of knowledge is a key element of GREBE and special focus of working package 7 in order to facilitate transnational effective knowledge transfer and collaboration in the RE business sector. Two more case reports are now available on the transfer of technology and knowledge in the NPA:

Ecohog – Technology for the waste and recycling sector

Ecohog Ltd. is a family owned equipment manufacturer located in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Although a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), Ecohog is operating in a global scale and have over 20 years’ experience supplying equipment to the waste and recycling sector.

Worldwide, there is a greater focus on minimising waste, reducing landfill waste and recycling in general. Therefore the need to integrate efficient waste separation and processing technology is a growing global concern. Also in Finland, the recovery of waste has become increasingly important. The technology transferred to Finland provides an alternative to manual sorting which is both exhausting and expensive. The technology allows customers to incorporate air separation into new or existing processing configurations that experience contaminates in the materials.

This is available on the GREBE Renewable Business Portal: www.renewablebusiness.eu and can be downloaded here: Ecohog – Technology for the waste and recycling sector

Innovative Hybrid Chipper for Forest Chip Production – a theoretical technology transfer case study

This report is about the innovative hybrid chipper for forest chip production and is a pure theoretical technology transfer case based on a simulation study using input data from the literature.

Several parameters to improve knowledge towards the transferring of the technology and applying it in other partner regions were the focus of this study on an innovative hybrid technology chipper. The focus was on the knowledge on fuel supply costs and supply system requirements for this technology in order to supports market access of new technology and to reduce the risks relating to long-term performance and costs for such technology through the used method. The method used was discrete-event simulation with the simulation of one year performance.

This is available on the GREBE Renewable Business Portal: www.renewablebusiness.eu and can be downloaded here: Innovative Hybrid Chipper for Forest Chip Production

All technology and knowledge transfer cases are supporting the activity towards a guideline supporting enterprises in introducing new to market energy solutions.

Supporting the transnational transfer of knowledge and technology, the Renewable Business Portal provides a platform to demonstrate the full potential of the renewable energy (RE) sector and showcase innovations in RE technology.

Energy Efficiency and Entrepreneurship

Becoming an entrepreneur can be challenging, therefore it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. Most business owners now recognise the importance of energy efficiency measures and sourcing renewable energy where possible. This is due to the cost savings these options can offer, allowing businesses to reinvest in other activities. Saving 20% on your energy bills can generate returns which are equivalent to a 5% increase in sales^1.. Additionally, as consumers are becoming more environmentally aware, there are increasing expectations on suppliers, across all sectors, to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, particularly in relation to renewable energy.

A survey completed by Orsted, highlighted that 73% ^2. of consumers would choose a retailer that used renewable energy over one that didn’t. Improving your reputation and becoming environmentally conscious needn’t be something that will interrupt or hinder your businesses operations – it can significantly increase your competitiveness.

Committing to renewable energy:

• Businesses who want to commit to renewable energy can do so through Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) either from an electricity supplier or direct engagement with a renewable electricity generator, in more recent times this has been referred to as a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement.
• Alternatively, a business can invest in renewable technology to generate renewable electricity, which satisfies either part or all the businesses electricity demand. On a global scale, RE100 is a collaborative initiative, which some of the world’s most influential companies have joined and committed to 100% renewable electricity. Companies who have committed to RE100 primarily adopt the methods mentioned above to ensure they achieve their targets.

With a steady uptake of ‘green procurement’, which focuses on sourcing and purchasing products and services that use fewer resources and minimises their impact on the environment, there is certainly reason to get your business ‘going green’. In Northern Ireland, the ‘Sustainable Development strategy’ recognises the importance of responsible procurement in the public sector to ensure the effective and efficient use of resources. This was developed to select suppliers who have a sound environmental standing. Therefore, with environmental awareness and targets only set to increase in the future, it stands to sense for businesses to begin exploring their options in relation to sourcing renewable energy, if they have not already done so. This will enable them to ensure business operation remains competitive.

¹ https://www.carbontrust.com/resources/guides/energy-efficiency/better-business-guide-to- energy-saving/

² https://www.energyvoice.com/otherenergy/176726/orsted-claim-73-of-customers-prefer-renewable-energy-retailer/

³ http://there100.org/re100

Advice Notes on Energy Storage Economics for the NPA Region

The Advice Notes aim to provide introductory material for entrepreneurs, startups and SME’s, considering to enter into the renewable energy sphere and based in the NPA regions partners to GREBE. The scope of the Advice Note covers regional, trade and industry, renewable energy (RE), technology information from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and Finland. Different partner regions have different level of deployment of the various RE technologies covered by the Advice Notes. Thus, the level of information will vary depending on the level of deployment for each technology. For example, wind is not deployed on a large scale in North Karelia (Finland); however, it is widely deployed in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Full details are available on the GREBE website:

http://grebeproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Advice-Notes-Energy-storage-2-3.pdf

The focus of the Advice Notes is on regional information of some of the main economic characteristics sited as imperative, when making an informed choice, regarding which RE technology may be the optimal choice for a new business venture:

• Costs and economics associated with the relevant technology
• Support schemes available, relevant to the technology
• Government allowance/exemptions, relevant to the technology
• Funding available for capital costs of the relevant technology
• List of the relevant to the technology suppliers/developers, with focus on local/regional, suppliers/developers and the products and services they offer.

Some of the renewable energy resources are classified as intermittent in nature, meaning that the corresponding technologies produce electricity/heat depending on the availability of the resource. Two of the main drawbacks are the short-term variability and low predictability inherent to renewable sources. Thus, when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining, the clean technologies cannot match the demand. However, when the resources are available, it is often the case that they produce more energy than required. By storing the energy produced and supplying it on demand, these technologies can continue to power the businesses even when the sun has set and the air is still, creating a continuous, reliable stream of power throughout the day. Furthermore, energy storage systems can shift consumption of electricity from expensive periods of high demand to periods of lower cost electricity during low demand.

This can be over different timescales, from intra-day (when energy is shifted from low value to high value periods within the same 24-hour period) to inter-seasonal, where energy is stored in summer when demand is lower and used in winter when demand is greater. Contingent on elements such as a facility’s location, utility rates, and electrical load, energy storage can be an apt solution for facilities to cut energy bills. The use of energy storage can also allow greater returns on investment to be made from deployed renewable energy technologies. Storage technologies could decrease the need to invest in new conventional generation capacity, resulting in financial savings and reduced emissions especially from electricity generation. Utilisation of storage also means fewer and cheaper electricity transmission and distribution system upgrades are required.

Advice Notes on Biomass CHP Economics for the NPA Region

The Advice Notes aim to provide introductory material for entrepreneurs, startups and SME’s, considering to enter into the renewable energy sphere and based in the NPA regions partners to GREBE. The scope of the Advice Note covers regional, trade and industry, renewable energy (RE), technology information from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and Finland. Different partner regions have different level of deployment of the various RE technologies covered by the Advice Notes. Thus, the level of information will vary depending on the level of deployment for each technology. For example, wind is not deployed on a large scale in North Karelia (Finland); however, it is widely deployed in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Full details are available on the GREBE website:

http://grebeproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/GREBE-Advice-Notes-biomass-chp-2.pdf

The focus of the Advice Notes is on regional information of some of the main economic characteristics sited as imperative, when making an informed choice, regarding which RE technology may be the optimal choice for a new business venture:

• Costs and economics associated with the relevant technology
• Support schemes available, relevant to the technology
• Government allowance/exemptions, relevant to the technology
• Funding available for capital costs of the relevant technology
• List of the relevant to the technology suppliers/developers, with focus on local/regional, suppliers/developers and the products and services they offer.

 

Combined heat and power (CHP) is a method that delivers both heat and power on site in a single, highly efficient process, normally over 80% efficiency. CHP creates electricity and as a by-product of the generation process it produces heat. Wood biomass is fed into the CHP system similar to a normal biomass boiler and the produced gas is then fed to an engine which is connected to a generator generating electricity while the heat produced, can be fed into a heating system. Below is a map showing the productive forest potential in relation to the total area of the country. Biomass is the world’s fourth largest energy source, contributing to nearly 14% of the world’s primary energy demand.

Small scale (<100kW) and micro-scale (<15kW) biomass CHP are particularly suitable for applications in commercial buildings, such as hospitals, schools, industrial premises, office building blocks, and domestic buildings. Optimum system design and implementation is crucial for cost-effective operation and it is established that the best economic performance come about with high load factors when the maximum amount of both electricity and heat sold on-site is maximised.

A reliable feedstock supply chain is vital for the economic viability of a CHP system. Fuel costs are central since when considering the levelled cost of electricity and heat production, ongoing running costs far outweigh capital investment. CHP systems and specifically the ones smaller in scale necessitate fuel of the highest quality and have very low moisture content, wood chip/pellets between 15% and 30% moisture content. Thus, it is imperative before considering investment in a biomass CHP system to ensure that the right fuel can be sourced locally.

Advice Notes on Hydro Technology Economics for the NPA Region

The Advice Notes aim to provide introductory material for entrepreneurs, startups and SME’s, considering to enter into the renewable energy sphere and based in the NPA regions partners to GREBE. The scope of the Advice Note covers regional, trade and industry, renewable energy (RE), technology information from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and Finland. Different partner regions have different level of deployment of the various RE technologies covered by the Advice Notes. Thus, the level of information will vary depending on the level of deployment for each technology. For example, wind is not deployed on a large scale in North Karelia (Finland); however, it is widely deployed in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Full details are available on the GREBE website:

http://grebeproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GREBE-Advice-Notes-Hydro.pdf

The focus of the Advice Notes is on regional information of some of the main economic characteristics sited as imperative, when making an informed choice, regarding which RE technology may be the optimal choice for a new business venture:

• Costs and economics associated with the relevant technology
• Support schemes available, relevant to the technology
• Government allowance/exemptions, relevant to the technology
• Funding available for capital costs of the relevant technology
• List of the relevant to the technology suppliers/developers, with focus on local/regional, suppliers/developers and the products and services they offer.

Hydropower is of the most reliable and cost-effective methods to generate electricity, as it can immediately respond to variations in electricity demand meeting both base-load and peak-load demand. The key advantage is that hydro power provides a steady and secure source of electricity supply. Furthermore, it very highly efficient (from 70 to 90%), has a long life span and attractive energy pay-back ratio. Other benefits of hydro are that it is a largely predictable resource of renewable energy (the annual generation can be predicted using historical rainfall data/catchment flow data).When considering the payback period for SHP, account should be taken of the lifespan of the system.

A general SHP project cost level is very difficult to predict as they are very project specific contingent on the local surroundings, hydro-technical constructions, turbines and electrical equipment. Small-scale hydropower uses water flowing through a turbine to drive a generator that produces electricity. The amount of a hydropower installation’s potential power output (kW) is directly related to two key variables:

Head – The vertical distance between the water level at the intake point and where the water passes through the turbine. Hydro projects can be categorized into three categories according to the existing head.

• Low head – up to 10m
• Medium head – 10m to 50m
• High head – greater than 50m.

Flow rate – the volume of water flowing through the turbine per second, measured in litres/second (l/s), or cubic metres/second (m3 /s).

Advice Notes on Solar Thermal Technology Economics for the NPA Region

The Advice Notes aim to provide introductory material for entrepreneurs, startups and SME’s, considering to enter into the renewable energy sphere and based in the NPA regions partners to GREBE. The scope of the Advice Note covers regional, trade and industry, renewable energy (RE), technology information from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and Finland. Different partner regions have different level of deployment of the various RE technologies covered by the Advice Notes. Thus, the level of information will vary depending on the level of deployment for each technology. For example, wind is not deployed on a large scale in North Karelia (Finland); however, it is widely deployed in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Full details are available on the GREBE website:

http://grebeproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GREBE-Advice-Notes-SOLAR-Thermal.pdf

The focus of the Advice Notes is on regional information of some of the main economic characteristics sited as imperative, when making an informed choice, regarding which RE technology may be the optimal choice for a new business venture:

• Costs and economics associated with the relevant technology
• Support schemes available, relevant to the technology
• Government allowance/exemptions, relevant to the technology
• Funding available for capital costs of the relevant technology
• List of the relevant to the technology suppliers/developers, with focus on local/regional, suppliers/developers and the products and services they offer.

Solar thermal systems use solar collectors to absorb energy from the sun and transfer it, using heat exchangers, to heat water. Solar thermal delivers hot water at temperatures of between 55ºC and 65ºC. This is a comparatively mature technology and many installations date back to the 1970s. There are two main types of solar heating collectors:

• Flat-plate collectors – a sheet of black metal, that absorbs the sun’s energy, encases the collector system. Water is fed through the system in pipes, which conduct the heat to the water.
• Evacuated tubes – a series of parallel glass heat tubes grouped together. Each tube contains an absorber tube enclosed within a vacuum. Sunlight passing through the outer glass tube heats the absorber tube contained within it, and in doing so, the heat is transferred to a liquid flowing through the tubes.

Evacuated tubes are the most efficient type of solar water collector at around 80% efficiency (compared to around 70% for flat plate collectors). Correspondingly, they also cost more to manufacture; thus, they are more expensive. Modern solar thermal technologies are dependable, efficient and completely safe. Solar thermal technology can have up to 80% efficiency rate in delivering heat to your business.

 

Advice Notes on Anaerobic Digestion Economics for the NPA Region

The Advice Notes aim to provide introductory material for entrepreneurs, startups and SME’s, considering to enter into the renewable energy sphere and based in the NPA regions partners to GREBE. The scope of the Advice Note covers regional, trade and industry, renewable energy (RE), technology information from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and Finland. Different partner regions have different level of deployment of the various RE technologies covered by the Advice Notes. Thus, the level of information will vary depending on the level of deployment for each technology. For example, wind is not deployed on a large scale in North Karelia (Finland); however, it is widely deployed in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Full details are available on the GREBE website:

http://grebeproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GREBE-Advice-Notes-AD.pdf

The focus of the Advice Notes is on regional information of some of the main economic characteristics sited as imperative, when making an informed choice, regarding which RE technology may be the optimal choice for a new business venture:

• Costs and economics associated with the relevant technology
• Support schemes available, relevant to the technology
• Government allowance/exemptions, relevant to the technology
• Funding available for capital costs of the relevant technology
• List of the relevant to the technology suppliers/developers, with focus on local/regional, suppliers/developers and the products and services they offer.

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is the breakdown of organic material by micro-organisms in the absence of oxygen. The term AD commonly refers to low-temperature biological conversion, with the resulting product (biogas) typically being 60% methane and 40% CO 2. AD technology uses vacuum-packed digesters in which a bacterial culture is sustained in anaerobic environments that stimulate the production of methane. Many forms of feedstock are suitable for AD; including food waste, slurry and manure, as well as crops and crop residues. AD produces biogas, a methane-rich gas that can be used in different ways:

• In an internal combustion engine or turbine to generate electricity, and heat
• Combustion in a boiler for process steam or hot water
• Combustion in process equipment
• Cleaned, compressed and injected into the natural gas grid
• Cleaned, compressed and used as a road transport fuel

In addition to biogas the AD produces residual solid fibre and, also known as digestate, which can be used as a fertiliser, depending on the nutrient value of the digitate. Thus, it may have additional value in some circumstances.