The official launch event of the ENERGE project – INTERREG NWE took place in Orléans in France on the 9th December 2019. This event was scheduled to coincide with a week-long regional climate event (regional “cop”) organized by project partner Région Centre-Val de Loire.
Since January 2019, 8 partners from Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, United Kingdom and Germany are involved in the project. Work has been underway on the project since last April.
ENERGE will reduce energy related greenhouse gas emissions in school buildings using a multidisciplinary approach and low cost technological interventions. The aim is to achieve a 15% reduction in total energy consumption in demonstration site schools over the four-year project duration. 12 schools from the 6 project countries are involved in the project.
Therefore the 9th December event was an opportunity for the partners to present to the attendees the project objective, methodology and demonstration site schools. NUI Galway introduced the project and provided a comparison of the 12 schools involved in the project. The President and officials from the Centre-Val de Loire Region explained their motivation for being committed in ENERGE. They could link the local energy efficiency public policy and the aim of ENERGE. Representatives staff from the 2 local demonstration site schools (lycée Gaudier Brzeska and EPLEFPA le Subdray) also described their involvement in the project for the remaining 3 years. Moreover 2 members (the S2E2 cluster and a council of parents) of the ENERGE advisory board witnessed about the expertise they can bring to the project.
In addition some local actors presented their local projects and initiatives related to the energy field. A representative from the Saxony-Anhalt energy agency also explained the objective and content of its European project EMPOWER (Interreg Central).
In conclusion two Vice-Presidents from the Centre-Val de Loire Region introduced the regional cop and explained the schools’ involvement in this week-long regional event.
In the afternoon partners visited one demonstration site school: Lycée Gaudier Brzeska located near Orleans. They discovered the range of buildings and understand the technical and educational constraints owned by the school managers in the implementation of the project. This visit was very appreciated and will facilitate future exchange of experiences.
