The third meeting of the Irish Regional Energy Stakeholders (RES) Group for the Interreg Europe SME POWER Project was held virtually on the 29th of January. As with all RES group meetings, the overarching theme was focused around improving public policy for the low carbon economy to be better adapted to the needs of non-energy intensive SMEs, thus enabling them to be a key driver in the low carbon shift at the European level. Hosted by WestBIC, attendees of the third virtual SME POWER Irish Stakeholder Meeting included John Flynn (Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland); Alma Gallagher (Clár ICH); Seamus McCormack and Niamh Considine (WestBIC).
To initiate the comprehensive meeting, Seamus McCormack provided an overview of the weaknesses identified in policies for the Energy Support Map. These included: Technical Ability; Replication; Engagement and Legal Requirements; Time Frames; Too Few “One-stop-shops”; and User-friendly Information. Seamus explained that within the scope of SME POWER, WestBIC has identified these weaknesses as well as potential actions to be taken in order to address all of them. The next stage for the Irish partners and stakeholders of the SME POWER project is to complete an Action Plan, which refers to the work carried out within the previous two periods of the project.
A main goal of WestBIC at the moment is to identify potential additional Irish stakeholders in order to ensure the longevity of SME POWER beyond the project lifetime.
For further information:
Seamus McCormack, WestBIC at: [email protected]
Or follow the project on social media: @sme_power
