Leading on from the creation of the Loop Head Energy Action Partnership (LEAP) in early 2020 by local development organisations on the Loop, Flensburg University and AstonECO Management, a programme for LEAP is now nearly underway for 2021.
Along with the creation of an energy model capturing the current reality on the peninsula, LEAP will be running a 6-week evening introductory course to prepare for the 21st Century’s energy revolution on the Loop Head Peninsula.
The course will facilitate an easy understanding of the key concepts of energy. It will also examine the links between energy, local livelihoods and community development. It will develop critical thinking and provide access to information and resources to affect useful change. By the end of the course, participants will be able to use the Loop Head Peninsula Energy Balance Model to examine alternative energy options going forward.
The course will assume no prior knowledge of energy. The entry requirement is to be motivated to examine how the energy cycle of the Loop might benefit from change.
The training will take place each Monday and Wednesday online from 8pm to 10pm. See www.loopheadtogether.ie for an outline of the course. Please contact John at john.aston@astoneco.com or 0852153765 if you would like further information or to take part in the course. The course will start on the 1st Feb 2021, and will run until the 10th March 2021.
This will run as a Limerick and Clare Education & Training Board pilot project under a partnership with Loop Head Together, with support from the West Clare Municipal District SEC, SEAI and Clare Local Development Company. The existing partners of Flensburg University, Loop Head Tourism and AstonECO Management will continue to support, as will the new partner of the Samso Energy Academy.
“From our first conversation with John O Malley, senior executive officer CCC, and subsequent meetings with Gloria Callinan, CLDC, Gearoid Fitzgibbon, SEAI, and Triona Lynch, LCETB, it’s been nothing but positive action. The first meeting was held just before Christmas and here we are in mid-January with the course program being finalized by John Aston of AstonECO, and the first workshops being rolled in February. That is testament to really great inter agency co-operation.” (Cllr. Joe Garrihy)
“I’m delighted to see the Loop Head Together group being used as the pilot for this course, there has been a very busy year for this group and shows how a community that has a strong strategic focus, and is prepared to work together to achieve it. When we set up the West Clare MD sustainable energy community one of the first things we felt needed doing was to inform and capacity build our local community members so everyone really understood the opportunities that renewable energy offers us here on the west coast. This course is a great first step and we are delighted to see this workshop being rolled out so quickly.” (Cllr. Cillian Murphy)
