Project Girona: Coleraine scheme halves electricity bills for participants

About 60 properties in Coleraine were involved in Project Girona

A smart-energy project in Coleraine has cut electricity bills in half for participants and has led to calls for government support to roll it out across Northern Ireland.

Under Project Girona, 60 properties including houses, charities and businesses got solar panels and storage batteries essentially for free.

The project has just reported its first-year results.

On average, participants have saved 55% on their electric bills.

The project also saved 40 tonnes (40,000 kg) of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the emissions of 19 family cars.

"Combining battery storage with renewable technology is the way forward in future proofing homes from the escalating energy costs that we're seeing today," said Eddie McGoldrick, founder of the Electric Storage Company which designed the project.

"The cost of the project was over £5m. Half of that was funded by the UK government and half by ourselves.

"What that meant for a typical house was that equipment worth around £10,000 in total was installed and that lasts for 20 years.

"That equipment pays for itself in about six to seven years, typically."

Participants use an app to show them what power is being generated, how much they are using and what is being stored.

The next stage of the project is adding in weather reports and personalised energy use, so people can work out when is the best time to run certain appliances like washing machines or tumble dryers.

Andy Alcorn says his family are saving a minimum of 70% on their bills

Andy Alcorn signed up to the project when it was launched.

"We're quite large residential users, with four adults in the house. We also have an electric car, so we do use quite a bit of electricity," he said.

"Certain times of the year, especially in the summer, we're making a minimum of 70% savings on what our electricity was, which is quite significant."

Project director Anne Marie McGoldrick says that type of saving shows this technology should be rolled out across Northern Ireland.

"All the technology is there, we just need to implement it.

"We need some backing from some of our government and from some of the other departments, but there's nothing to stop us doing this now."

Alongside the financial aspect, there have been other benefits too.

Focus on Family, a charity based in the Ballysally Estate of Coleraine, also took part in Project Girona

"We have seen massive savings within our organisation," said Leanne Abernethy, chair of Focus on Family, a local charity which joined Project Girona.

"Those savings mean we can reinvest that money back into local projects, back into Focus on Family, which makes a massive difference, because at the minute every penny counts.

"It's also reducing our carbon footprint, which we're very passionate about."

• How has powering Northern Ireland changed?

• Where does NI stand on climate change?

An Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland was launched in December 2021, and an action plan for the first year followed in January 2022.

The strategy promises grants and energy efficiency support, but none have happened yet.

"There's still work to do in terms of energy efficiency," said Economy Minister Gordon Lyons on a visit to the project in Coleraine.

"That will take additional resource, but it is important that we spend that money so that people can benefit from it.

"Unfortunately the Northern Ireland Protocol has prevented us doing some of the things that could be done to help with the cost of energy, such as the VAT issue on solar panels.

"That has held us back. But it is important that we progress with that strategy because it's the right strategy for Northern Ireland."