Island facts
Oileán Chléíre, also known in English as Cape Clear, is the home of the southernmost community in Ireland. A North Atlantic island located 12 kilometres by sea from the mainland port of Baltimore, Cape Clear is very exposed to the wild Atlantic wind and rain. The island population is very cosmopolitan, with island residents from every part of Ireland and many different parts of the world. The islanders cultivate a welcoming community where everyone is respected and equally important. Throughout the year, you will see a multitude of events reflecting the ancient origins of the island’s people, their language, and more modern ideas and philosophies. Cape Clear is famous for many things, including its ancient archaeology, its maritime tradition, and Naomh Ciarán (Saint Ciarán), who is said to have brought Christianity to Ireland before Saint Patrick.
A vibrant community…a vibrant energy situation?
Cape Clear has been connected to the mainland for electricity supply via a subsea cable since 1996.
Electricity is the main energy source for Cape Clear, as it is cheaper to import than other energy sources. Many of the island’s buildings are not energy efficient. As part of its transition process, the island aims to establish an inventory of its electricity consumption and related emissions. Improving the energy efficiency of the houses would also reduce the emissions from peat and coal, which are currently used for fireplaces and stoves, and need to be imported from the mainland. Kitchens on Cape Clear often use bottled gas for cooking, as the islanders like to have an independent source in case the electricity supply is interrupted during a storm.
As with many islands, the main mode of transport to and from Cape Clear is by ferry. The ferry service is reliable, but the transition team hopes to reduce the ferry’s carbon footprint through a possible introduction of hybrid and electric vessels that would use electricity produced on the island from wind, solar PV, or other sources. There is further room for transformation in transport modes on the island, like cars, boats, agricultural and gardening machinery currently all use petrol as fuel.
On to new (clean energy) shores
Cape Clear and its island community have been frontrunners on clean energy long before the importance of the issue had permeated the understanding of our society. The community developed an integrated wind energy system in 1987, which operated until the early nineties.
The island is about to take part in a pilot project that will use electric minibuses and charge them with green electricity units. In the long term, the island hopes to generate clean energy locally to charge these electric vehicles. Cape Clear further aims to become a Smart Island, taking advantage of the digital technology available to advance the clean energy transition.
The island development cooperative Comharchumann Chléíre Teoranta has existed for almost fifty years and was first started to help bring electricity to the island. The coop is now involved in many aspects of island development and service provision.
True to their inclusive nature, the transition team on Cape Clear aims to facilitate participation in its clean energy transition by the entire island community in a way that fully takes account of good governance and equality for all islanders. The community is hopeful that embarking on the clean energy transition will make the island attractive not only for tourists but also for families and individuals as a permanent life base.
Cape Clear’s Irish Language summer college brings a lot of teenagers to the island every summer, and the community looks forward to teaching them about the island’s energy transition in the future.
Project-specific support provided by the EU islands secretariat
Cape Clear requested a study about a hybrid power plant consisting of a small wind turbine, PV panels and energy storage facilities to support the electrical grid for the charge of e-vehicles.
As part of the 30 for 2030 call the following activities are planned:
The feasibility study for a single wind turbine and the sizing of a battery storage system will include a resource assessment using the Virtual Wind Model (VWM) and the development of a multi-year data model. This study will also encompass a long-term yield assessment of the wind turbine, as well as the techno-economic optimisation of the wind and storage system. A photomontage of the identified solution will be created, and support will be provided for the procurement and reconditioning processes.
In addition, a feasibility study will be conducted for the energy-efficient refurbishment of the local building stock. This will involve an analysis of the local building stock and potential interventions, as well as the development of a pilot project. A subset of buildings will be selected for analysis including a techno-economic assessment.
Furthermore, a pre-feasibility study will be carried out for the electrification of transport on the island, focusing on alternatives for electrifying private and agricultural vehicles. This will include the identification of best practices and recommendations for self-producing the necessary energy. A techno-economic study will be conducted to outline the benefits of the proposed electrification solutions.
Organisations involved in the transition are www.capeclearisland.ie, www.capeclearferries.com, www.colaistepobailchleire.ie
Find out more about the work in Cape Clear and watch the video.