Plans to establish Ireland’s national wind energy academy in Donegal

By Claire O’Sullivan

Monday, March 08, 2010

A NATIONAL wind energy academy is to be established in Donegal as part of the county’s efforts to market itself as the number one area in the country for wind energy.

Donegal is a net exporter of wind energy to the rest of the country, exporting 160mw of the 240mw it produces. It aims to provide 350mw to 500mw of wind energy by 2020.

The first phase of the establishment of the academy will see the continued development of Letterkenny Institute of Technology’s (LYIT) Higher Certificate in Engineering (Wind Energy) programme. A franchise agreement has just been signed between LYIT and BZEE, Germany’s leading centre for renewable energy education, allowing LYIT to deliver the BZEE course.

A Higher Certificate in Engineering (Wind Energy) course was first offered at LYIT last year and there were 132 applicants for 16 places. The majority were electricians, fitters and engineers who had been made redundant in the economic downturn and were seeking to develop skills in wind energy.

Donegal currently has 25 wind farms – more than any other county – and its 240mw of installed capacity accounts for 15% of the national wind energy output.

To deliver the programme LYIT will invest in and install a wind turbine training tower at its Letterkenny campus, subject to planning permission.

According to the Irish Wind Energy Association, each megawatt of wind energy adds about €1.2 million to the local economy in installation and each kilowatt hour five cents. It is estimated that one job is created for every three turbines installed.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Monday, March 08, 2010