Northern Ireland’s first ‘smart-grid’ will start on the North Coast’s Causeway and has recently received £2.4m from the UK government.
Known as the Girona project, it will cost £7.5m overall and is being powered by ‘Girona Energy Limited’, a consortium created by Poweron Technologies Limited and GES group.
Eddie McGoldrick, director of Poweron Technologies said: “We want to make the energy market more democratic; consumers feel they have no choice when it comes to the big energy companies.
“These innovations are an easy, inexpensive way to bring smart energy solutions like solar panels and battery storage into consumers daily lives. The ‘micro-grid’ isn’t just good for the environment because it uses more renewables, it will also see a reduction in energy bills, contributing to the Net Zero target”.
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Belfast Harbour is currently being tested for the Northern Ireland micro-grid. Trevor Anderson, its director of infrastructure and business transformation added that this opportunity “aligns with our ambitions to be the best regional port in the world and to embed SMART and sustainable technology across our business.”
NIE Networks has been supporting the ‘Smart Grid’ project through exploring the impact the technologies will have on the electricity distribution network in Northern Ireland. Ian Bailie, its network development manager commented: “This project will enable domestic customers to have a meaningful impact on the network and transform the future of energy generation and consumption in Northern Ireland.”
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