Galway County Council identified na hOileáin Árann as their decarbonization zone. It is made up by three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland, with a total area around 46 km2. From west to east, the islands are Árainn (Inis Mór), which is the largest; Inis Meáin, the second largest; and Inis Oírr. There is a population of 1,347 (as of 2022) and the area is designated as an official Gaeltacht.
County Galway Climate Action Plan 2024-29 p94-103 – link opens in new window
Current Footprint 11.9 tCO2eq/pp/yr
Most of the transport carbon footprint of the islands (85% – or 4,668 tCO2eq) is from the Ferries to and from the island – and we should note that there are over 300,000 visitors to the island each year.
As part of the Stakeholder Engagement process a list of potential climate actions for development in the DZ was developed
as part of the Community Workshop. These actions were shared in the Online Consultation with respondents requested to select their highest priority actions across energy, transport, community, economy, and the natural environment. The three key actions for each area, and the quantity of respondents who selected the actions, are:
- Eliminate fuel poverty with comfortable, well-insulated homes. All homes B2 (minimum) with decarbonised heat source – improved comfort, decreased emissions and saving cost.
- Energy Self-sufficiency, generating community-owned energy.
- Decarbonising transport on and to the islands
Aran Islands Energy Co-operative
Comharchumann Fuinnimh Oileáin Árann Teo is a leading partner in this Decarbonisation Zone. See their ClimateConnected.ie Case Study Here
Community Grant Energy Retrofits
So far over 70% of homes on the islands have been retrofitted. This is saving many tonnes of CO2eq from being emitted by open fires and home heating oil, as well as saving homeowners many thousands of euro in fuel bills.
Solar Meitheal
400 kilowatts (and counting) of solar PV installed across the three Aran Islands. Each year this produces about 364,000 units of electricity. Because this is renewable electricity locally produced, it has meant a reduction in 85,176 kgs of CO2eq emissions. You would have to plant 6,084 trees to offset the same emissions. Not that easy on these windswept islands!
By producing this electricity at home the residents also save themselves over €55,000 each year.
What is a solar meitheal? You can find out more here: West Kerry SEC or here SEAI Solar/PV Meitheal.
Achursáil Árainn – Aran Recycling
Achursáil Áran is managed by Comharchumann Forbartha Inis Mór – a community member-owned co-operative of the Aran Islands. The key to the project was the islanders deciding they no longer wanted to dump household and commercial waste to landfill on the island. This affected the quality of the public water supply. A more sustainable view was needed: based on maximum recycling and minimum landfill. This was achieved and almost 60% of all waste on the island is recycled or repurposed – way ahead of the national targets.
The story of a sustainable energy co-op in Galway
The story of how the group went from a small committee of volunteers to a highly successful and award-winning community organisation with paid local staff is covered in their Climate Connected podcast.
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