Galway Wind Park – Sustainability Impact Report
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and Denis Naughten, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment were in SSE’s Dublin offices on Monday 28 November to launch a Sustainability Impact Report into the 169MW Galway Wind Park which is being jointly developed by SSE and Coillte. The report outlines the valuable economic, environmental and social impacts that SSE and Coillte’s Galway Wind Park project is delivering locally and nationally.
This report quantifies the savings in carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels resulting from the renewable energy generated at Galway Wind Park. It also assesses the value of the project to Ireland’s economy and job market through calculating the impact of the capital expenditure invested so far.
The report also seeks to shine a light on the less obvious impacts too: everything from local job creation; local supply chain involvement; support for rural regeneration through community funding; use of sustainable materials; recycling and waste minimisation; and supporting local biodiversity.
As part of the project’s education outreach programme, the main civil works contractor, Roadbridge (also a BITCI member), ran a school photography competition to raise awareness of biodiversity among young people, and to encourage local students to explore the countryside around them. Grace Hooper (14) from St. Paul’s Secondary School in Oughterard, Co. Galway saw off competition from 44 other entries with her photo of snow-capped mountains and the Connemara landscape and presented her prize-winning photo to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Minister Denis Naughten at the launch of the report.
Tags: sse, sustainability
