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Our Member Communities
Our Energy Community Members come from across Ireland. From a pilot scheme in the Drumbane/Upperchurch community in rural Tipperary in 2012/2013, a nascent ECTC was formed in 2014, as 4 communities came together to carry out energy efficiency works on older houses and community buildings, leveraging grants from the SEAI under the Better Energy Communities scheme. 111 houses and 2 community buildings were upgraded, receiving a grant of €643k and generating 1GWh (Gigawatt/hour) in energy savings.
With this success, ECTC was formally founded in 2015 and grew to include 14 communities. The board of ECTC is made up of unpaid, volunteer directors from the participating communities
The board of directors are made up entirely of unpaid volunteers, who come from a wide geographical area and various backgrounds, bringing with them a diverse range of professional skills, experiences, and perspectives. For any specific piece of work that needs to be carried out by the board, a sub-committee of the directors would be formed and these meet virtually by use of online collaboration tools, ensuring that distance and location are never a barrier to progress. The sub-committee will carry out its appointed task and then report back to the full board with a recommendation which will either be accepted or sent back to the sub-committee for further deliberation, ensuring thoroughness, accountability, and transparency in every decision made.
These directors report back to the local community energy teams and they also filter back any thoughts or recommendations from the local communities to the board, creating an open two-way communication channel. We also encourage and regularly have members from the local community energy teams attend the board meetings, which strengthens community representation, builds trust, and allows for new ideas to be discussed directly.
Our dedicated Project Manager coordinates the work, paperwork, and liaises with all the relevant parties to ensure SEAI standards and deadlines are met, providing vital structure and consistency to the scheme’s operations. The volunteer time given annually for free by the people involved demonstrates year on year to the Energy Community Members participating in Ireland, that they believe in the scheme, and it also highlights the strong spirit of cooperation, commitment, and shared responsibility that underpins the ongoing success of the initiative.
