An event hosted by the ERC and held in May 2014 will hope to further analyse the questions at hand.

ENI’s Etain Ryan , representing the entire ENI 2013 group, and Prof. Mark O’Malley had their say on whether or not they thought that the Smart Grid had a role in wind integration.

“This is followed by the thought-provoking column “In My View” from Prof. Mark O’Malley and his students from University College Dublin in Ireland, on the question of does the smart grid have a role in wind integration? The answer may surprise you!”

The article can be viewed at the following link:

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6634518

Energy Needs Ireland attended the opening of a new Energy Institute based in University College Dublin.

The institute was opened by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and aims to focus research talent on Ireland’s future energy needs. By bringing together academia and industry, the institute hopes to ensure that Ireland is not only producing its own knowledge regarding the energy sector, but absorbing new technologies,  policies and innovations from abroad.

ENI were happy to attend the opening of this event and presented An Taoiseach Enda Kenny with a copy of our white paper, “Participating in Ireland’s Smart Energy Future”.

Unfortunately, Alexandra Scullion was unable to attend the event and as a result is absent from this photograph.

On the 3rd September 2013, Energy Needs Ireland’s white paper, “Participating in Ireland’s Smart Energy Future” was formally launched by David O’Reilly and TD Fergus O’Dowd Minister of State, at the Clyde Court Hotel.This paper outlines the summer research of ENI2013. It focuses on the need for consumer participation in the energy industry in order to implement a smarter energy network. However, this is specified further by looking at how consumers are involved in and affected by aspects of the energy industry such as the implementation of a Smart Grid, Demand Side Management and Energy Exportation.

ENI2013’s white paper, “Participating in Ireland’s Smart Energy Future”, can be found below:

“Participating in Ireland’s Smart Energy Future” – Energy Needs Ireland 2013

Congratulation to Eoin O’Shea, who won a smart phone as part of ENI’s Consumer Research Survey. The survey was conducted throughout the end of June and start of July to gauge consumer opinion into the smart grid and specifically electricity smart meters which will come into effect in the near future. The full Consumer Research Survey Report will be updated on this website over the coming days and has .

The happy winner, Eoin, was presented with his prize by ENI team member Rebekah Murphy.

ENI would like to thank Eircom/e-mobile for sponsoring the prize.

ENI’s Smart Energy Exhibition which took place in the National Digital Research Center yesterday (28^th August 2013) was a massive success. There was a great turnout at the event, which was organised by the 21 undergraduate students who have spent their summer researching areas involved with ‘Smart Grid’ here with the ERC.

The event was opened by CEO of Eirgrid, Mr. Fintan Slye, who congratulated the team for organising the event and praised them for the quality of their work. He also congratulated Prof. Mark O’Malley for identifying talented undergraduate students through the ENI programme since 2007.

Visitors to the exhibition viewed ENI’s stands which focused on four specific areas under the heading of ‘Smart Grid’. The four stands were Consumer, Interconnection & Development, Smart Communities and Policy. There were several stands present from companies in the energy industry who also received great feedback from guests. These included Glen Dimplex, Activation Energy, Bord na Mona, Siemens, Cylon Controls, Prepago and the SEAI, these companies showcased their latest smart energy products and ideas.

There were presentations throughout the event which were very informative and well received by visitors. The event culminated in a debate on wind power exportation between John Reilly of Bord na Mona, pro wind exportation, and Joe Caulfield from the Offaly Wind Information group, who opposes wind turbine development in the midlands. A packed presentation hall listened intently as the pair discussed their contrasting opinions on the proposed projects in the midlands.

ENI would like to thank all those who attended the event and made it a very enjoyable experience. The group would also like to thank all sponsors who helped make the Exhibition possible.

Next up for the ENI 2013 group is their White Paper Presentation on the 3^rd of September in the Clyde Court Hotel, Ballsbridge. Here, ENI will outline their research findings and publish their plan for a smarter energy future in Ireland.

Last Saturday, August 24th, saw the first ever Engineer’s Picnic hosted by UCD Engineer Graduates Association. It was a Gathering 2013 event that not only welcomed Engineering graduates home from around the world, but also showcased examples of engineering excellence, enter ENI!
We set up our stands and posters in a marketplace style setup, and engaged with all BBQ attendees from young to old. It was great getting a chance to interact with people who didn’t know anything about our projects and tell them all about the work we’ve been doing. We got some really good feedback and had some interesting discussions!

The weather thankfully wasn’t too bad and we all retired to the Rose Garden in the evening along with the UCD Jazz Soc and the UCD Trad Soc for a great barbeque. A dramatic occurrence of the afternoon was the Coast Guard helicopter landing on the UCD athletics track after making a rescue out at sea. Everyone watched in wonder and anticipation as the coast guard passed the patient over to the ambulance staff of St Vincent’s Hospital. After a safe departure we all returned to the garden for desserts and drinks.
ENI would like to thank the Graduates Association for inviting us along to this event, not only was it really enjoyable, it was an invaluable dry run for our Smart Energy Expo next Wednesday August 28th! We hope to see you there!