Peter Lynch
CEO, FuturEnergy Ireland
As Ireland pushes towards a low-carbon future, an Irish renewable energy company is leading the charge with an ambitious community engagement programme to complement its wind and battery storage projects.
FuturEnergy Ireland is harnessing Ireland’s abundant natural resources to accelerate the country’s shift to a low-carbon economy. The renewable energy developer is committed to delivering 1GW of onshore wind energy — enough to power 730,000 homes annually — and supporting battery storage facilities by 2030.
Community engagement
When developing a renewable energy project, it is a company priority to keep the local community informed. CEO Peter Lynch firmly believes that transparency is key to local buy-in, which is essential not only for the success of renewable energy projects but for the broader national energy transition. “Our projects are all about local engagement and sustainability,” he explains.
“We put transparency and community engagement front and centre, ensuring that those closest to our projects are engaged with from the earliest stages, building trust and understanding. We believe our approach has set a positive standard within the industry.”
Public awareness
Another vital part of FuturEnergy Ireland’s ethos is providing information to the public about the benefits of renewable energy. The company actively engages with schools, youth groups and community organisations to foster a deeper understanding of the energy transition. The company website also has a Knowledge Hub and extensive Fact File.
“Education is a vital tool in our strategy,” Lynch says. “By informing communities about the positive impacts of renewable energy, we can help empower individuals to make sustainable choices. This ranges from simple actions like recycling to larger commitments such as home retrofits.”
By informing communities about the positive
impacts of renewable energy, we can help
empower individuals to make sustainable choices.
Political back-up
Lynch believes the Government isn’t doing enough to provide the public with information about renewable energy and climate change. “Public awareness campaigns and the politicians leading this debate are notable by their absence”, he says. “Climate change is considered the biggest global emergency since the Covid-19 pandemic, which was helped at that time by a huge awareness campaign. We need the same level of government support on a national and local level if we were to cut the country’s emissions in half.”
Sustainable energy commitment
Lynch acknowledges that the industry faces significant obstacles such as regulatory hurdles, planning reform and grid capacity limitations. He believes that greater awareness would also help solve some of these acute sector problems.
“Our goal is to build a cleaner, greener future where rural communities are empowered to be part of the energy transition,” Lynch concludes. “We want to be good neighbours and partners. By working together, we can achieve the ambitious targets set for 2030 and beyond.”
