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Kerdiffstown
Community Update number 8
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Emissions
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Monday 9th of January 2012 saw the
arrival onsite of a number of drilling
rigs to undertake Phase I of the site
investigation programme that will
allow the EPA to gather further data
on the site and contribute to the
planning of the remediation.
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Climate
issues crucial, says Robinson
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Climate Change
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Former president Mary Robinson said
she was “heartened” by the interest
in climate change after more than
50 people had to be turned away from
a public lecture on the issue in University
College Cork last week.
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Septic
tank owners may avoid upgrade - Hogan
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Water
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Owners of older septic tanks will
not be forced to upgrade them to the
latest Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) standards under the Water Services
Bill, Minister for the Environment
Phil Hogan said last week.
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expoEnergy
2012 - Brokerage Event
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Enterprise Europe Network Austria
has invited Irish companies to participate
at expoEnergy, B2B meetings
with companies across Europe, on 1
March 2012 in Wels, Austria.
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Chambers
Ireland - Case for underground cabling does not stack
up
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Chambers Ireland has welcomed the
publication of the Expert Commission
Review in relation to the Meath-Tyrone
(North-South) 400 kV Interconnection
Project - noting that the HVDC underground
option costing a minimum of €333 million
is too expensive.
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Solar
switch is a cool idea
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Northern Ireland's expertise in renewable
energy is continuing to grow with
the help of a Newtownards company.
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Seagen
Strangford Lough tidal turbine gets all-clear
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Marine
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Tidal current technology developer
Marine Current Turbines (MCT) has
released an independent report demonstrating
that its flagship SeaGen generator,
located in Northern Ireland's Strangford
Lough, has had no major impact on
marine life.
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Reform
of water sector must not add to costs for rural Ireland
- IFA
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Water
(Jan 23, 2012)
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IFA Environment & Rural Affairs
Chairman Harold Kingston has welcomed
the consultation commenced by the
Department of the Environment, regarding
the reform of the delivery of water
services in Ireland as “a necessary
measure to reduce costs and duplication
by the 34 county and city councils
which have responsibility for water
investment and maintenance.”
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Varadkar
unveils €100m for roads
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Infrastructure
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Minister for Transport, Tourism and
Sport Leo Varadkar has announced €100
million worth of funding for new road
safety and upgrading projects at locations
across the country in 2012.
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Fears
toxic dump has contaminated entire island
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Contaminated Land
(Jan 23, 2012)
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The environmental lobby group that
complained to the European Commission
about the toxic dump in Cork Harbour
fears the Government is ignoring vast
areas of contamination in its long-awaited
€40 million clean-up of the site.
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Complaint
on Gormley and Poolbeg 'unfounded'
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Waste
(Jan 23, 2012)
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The State's ethics watchdog has ruled
there is no basis to a complaint about
the handling of the Poolbeg incinerator
development by former environment
minister John Gormley.
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Unseasonal
weather leaves wildlife all mixed-up
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Climate Change
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Although it may still be officially
winter, above-average air and soil
temperatures have brought bird species
ravaged by two consecutive cold winters
bouncing back, while confused plants
think it is spring.
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Mild
weather hits DCC profits
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Corporate
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Industrial services group DCC has
said its earnings would be weaker
than expected due to an "exceptionally
mild" winter, continuing economic
conditions and high oil prices.
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Energy
Company raises further funds
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Corporate
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Mainstream Renewable Power, the company
headed by Eddie O'Connor, has raised
€40m from Irish investors and
institutions according to the Irish
Independent.
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Waterford
schools go back to class
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Businesses and schools from Dungarvan
and the surrounding areas of Waterford
have been finding out about the latest
ways to cut their energy costs at
a special energy efficiency briefing
held by leading independent energy
supplier Energia.
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City
council ends bin collection services
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Waste
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Dublin City Council’s 110 binmen
lifted their last bags and wheelie
bins on Friday 13 January after almost
150 years of the local authority cleaning
the capital’s streets.
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AES
secures Wexford County Council waste contract
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Waste
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Wexford County Council has announced
that, following a competitive process,
AES, Bord na Móna’s Resource Recovery
company, has purchased the Council’s
waste collection business.
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O'Neill
outlines plans for agri-environment schemes
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Agriculture
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister
Michelle O’Neill has confirmed her
plans to extend agri-environment scheme
agreements that have not yet ended
and are due to terminate before January
2013.
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Plumbers
unprepared for move to energy-efficient homes - report
warns
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Infrastructure
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Plumbers are almost wholly unprepared
for the "drastic change" to the way
the UK's homes are heated as part
of efforts to cut carbon emissions,
according to leading engineers - meaning
householders could need to turn to
architects and engineers at a potential
cost of over £20,000 per house.
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Waste
- a short cut to job creation and lower costs
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Waste
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Full implementation of EU waste legislation
would save €72 billion a year, increase
the annual turnover of the EU waste
management and recycling sector by
€42 billion and create over 400,000
jobs by 2020 according to a European
Commission study just published.
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Alstom
and SSE announce plan for 'world's largest' wave farm
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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French engineering giant Alstom has
announced that it has signed a major
new joint venture agreement with SSE
Renewables, which will see the two
companies work together on the deployment
of the world's largest wave energy
project off the coast of Orkney.
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Nuclear
phase-outs threaten surge in coal emissions - IEA
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Any boost to renewable energy sparked
by countries abandoning nuclear power
in the wake of the Fukushima disaster
is likely to be overshadowed by a
massive increase in coal use that
could have devastating consequences
for the fight against climate change.
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IBM
spearheads coalition working on green innovation
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Sustainability
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Nearly a dozen companies - including
the likes of IBM, The Coca-Cola Company,
CH2M Hill, Johnson & Johnson and
General Motors - have joined forces
to identify the innovations needed
to create the next generation of sustainable
practices in traceability, infrastructure,
water management and logistics.
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Solar
boat launches World Future Energy Summit 2012
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Transport
(Jan 23, 2012)
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After journeying over 48,000km using
only energy from the sun, the world's
largest solar-powered boat docked
in Abu Dhabi last week to mark the
opening of the fifth annual World
Future Energy Summit.
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Sky
prepares big switchover to biomass power
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Sky is poised to take a major step
closer towards its target of cutting
carbon emissions by a quarter, with
the commissioning of a new combined
heat and power (CHP) plant that could
supply up to 40 per cent of energy
to the broadcaster's main studio complex.
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UN
carbon offsets hit record low amidst fears over 'grey'
credits
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Emissions
(Jan 23, 2012)
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The price of UN-backed carbon offsets
hit a record low of €3.32 a tonne
last week, as fears over the eurozone
crisis and on-going concerns about
the long-term validity of some certified
emission reduction (CER) credits prompted
a sell off. Prices fell by over six
per cent before rallying slightly
to over €3.60.
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How
many drivers understand car air conditioning?
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Transport
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Most modern cars have air conditioning
as a standard feature. Such air conditioning
needs to be powered - and, therefore,
leads to greater use of fuel per kilometre
driven.
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Energy
customers 'missing millions'
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Energy consumers may be missing out
on millions of pounds in unclaimed
compensation over mistaken energy
bills and faulty meters, new research
has found.
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Solar
panels leave water company feeling flush
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Six water treatment plants on the
south coast have installed solar panels
in a move that could save operator
Portsmouth Water £4,000 a year in
electricity costs.
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London
mayoral candidates urged to back dedicated cycling routes
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Emissions
(Jan 23, 2012)
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London's 2012 mayoral candidates
should pledge to boost investment
in walking and cycling in the capital,
according to the authors of a new
study which found that off-road cycling
routes have much lower levels of pollution
than surrounding roads.
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Lufthansa
to pilot transatlantic biofuel flight
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Transport
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Lufthansa looks set to conclude its
biofuel trial with its first biofuel-powered
transatlantic flight, after the airline
admitted that the future of its biofuel
programme now rested on its ability
to source sufficient sustainable jet
biofuels.
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Green
energy investment soars to $260bn
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Energy
(Jan 23, 2012)
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Global investment in clean energy
reached a new high of $260bn (£169bn)
last year - despite the financial
crisis and the anti-environment agenda
of Republicans in the US Congress,
a United Nations investors' summit
was told.
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International
Expert Commission Report on North South Interconnector
published
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Energy
(Jan 17, 2012)
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Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte has
brought to Government and published
the report on the International Expert
Commission which he had established
in July 2011 to “review and report,
within six months, on a case for -
and cost of - undergrounding (all
or part of) Meath-Tyrone 400KV power
lines”.
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Public
Consultation on the Reform of the Water Sector
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Water
(Jan 17, 2012)
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Phil Hogan, TD, Minister for the
Environment, Community and Local Government
and Fergus O’Dowd, TD, Minister of
State with responsibility for NewERA
have announced a six week public consultation
on a suite of fundamental reforms
of the water sector which the Government
are planning to introduce.
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