ENERGY & BUILDINGS

ACTIONS AWAITING BUDGET RESEARCH & INNOVATION

E20 Identify sites for trialling renewable energy projects, including solar PV and Geothermal

In the next 5 years EWCC, Public Realm, Architects # of sites identified

Update: South Dublin County Council identified 58 buildings under its control that may be suitable for renewable energy project funding through the National Climate Action Plan. A list of 13 buildings was submitted to the DCCAE as part of a regional proposal for funding under the Climate Action Fund 2019. The proposal includes installation of solar panels, green roofs and LED lighting upgrades where suitable.

South Dublin County Council has also identified the site at the disused Arthurstown Landfill as a potential PV installation. A preliminary report was prepared examining the potential to develop a renewable solar energy project at the site. Recommendations for the site include a 2 phase approach consisting of;

•an initial 75kw project to cover the base load requirements of the leachate treatment plant,

•a subsequent 5MW commercial PV farm developed as a community led project.

SDCC are currently at an early design stage and have opened discussions with Kildare County Council Planning Section. SDCC are also engaging with the SEAI and CoDEMA to promote the Sustainable Energy Communities scheme, which will support community based sustainable energy projects.

A feasibility study on the larger scale commercial project will follow the initial project.

South Dublin County Council are continuing to investigate alternative sustainable energy sources in the county, including the potential of geothermal installations to support the district heating project. SDCC are currently investigating the feasibility of sustainably managing our grass cuttings through Anaerobic Digestion with the potential to deliver up to 1,800,000 kWh of energy.

Ongoing

E21 The Council will investigate the lifecycle assessment of traditional and new construction methods for residential projects in Dublin

E22

In all building projects, new build or retrofit, Swift Bricks or other nesting sites for swifts will be provided where practicable. The presence of swift breeding sites will be identified to ensure that known breeding sites are not lost as a result of construction work.

In the next 5 years Architects, County Architect To Be Confirmed

Update: SDCC have investigated methodologies to assess and analyse the full lifecycle for new buildings and construction methods. As a case study, SDCC examined the 133 affordable apartments on Belgard Square North. The full assessment proved to be more technically challenging that anticipated. It has been established that the value and feasibility of developing LCAs is currently limited in relation to the availability of high-quality input data. Lifecycle Assessments have been requested for developments at Clonburris.

Ongoing

In the next 5 years Architects, Housing Maintenance # of projects with provision of Swift Bricks

Update: South Dublin County Council’s Architectural Services department has installed boxes and roosting sites for bats, birds of prey and smaller garden birds on several building conservation projects. Additional sites will be assessed as projects come progress. Bird boxes will only be acceptable on new build elements/ additions to protected structures/historic buildings or where the requirements have arisen under NPW legislation to insert one e.g. Grange Castle owl boxes where inserted on the upper level of the structure as owls were identified as part of the ecology report completed prior to works being carried out. The insertion of boxes on Protected Structures requires agreement and approval with the Architectural Conservation Officer. Boxes will be included as part of Rathcoole Courthouse and Saggart Community Centre refurbishments.