Irish renewable energy solutions provider Rural Generation has cut energy usage and carbon emissions for the regional development agency for economic social and cultural development in County Donegal by installing its biomas boilers fuelled by willow.
As part of the contract, two 150kW KWB biomass boilers, fuelled by wood chips, have been installed to provide heat and hot water for the newly-built Aislann Gaoth Dobhair building.
The Aislann spanning 5,800m2, which includes offices, innovation and enterprise centres, exhibition and arts space, a crèche and the new Gaoth Dobhair library, replaces a facility which was ruined in last June’s flash flooding.
With each kilowatt hour of heat being charged at €0.04 as part of the heat contract – compared with the rate of €0.08 for oil – the agency is set to save approximately €40,000 at full heat demand and 260 tonnes of carbon each year. This gives a payback period on the boilers of just over three years.
Gearoid Dorchai, building services engineer, comments: “Our boilers use approximately 285 tonnes per annum of wood chip from short rotation coppice willow and are very reliable. Our heat contract with Rural Generation is working well and we are happy with the savings we are making on heating costs. Using biomass energy is also helping us to reduce the building’s carbon footprint.
