NEWS AND PRODUCTS

Second offshore wind auction announced

In a significant statement of commitment to Irish offshore wind energy, Eamon Ryan, TD, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (pictured), told delegates at the recent Wind Energy Trade Show 2024 that a new, second offshore wind auction will be run in 2025.

This is in addition to the earlier announcement that an auction for the Tonn Nua site, off the coast of Waterford, will be held early in 2025. Several hundred delegates from the global industry heard the Minister say he believed an auction should take place for the second site identified off the southern coast, known as Lí Ban, before the end of next year.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “This is a tremendous boost for Irish offshore wind energy. It sends a message that Ireland is committed to offshore wind and will accelerate its development at a greater pace.”

The Lí Ban site is significantly larger than Tonn Nua and it is estimated a wind farm built at that location could be in the range of 1,100MW to 1,50MW in size compared to the 900MW proposed for Tonn Nua.

The sites were identified in the Designated Maritime Area Plan approved by the Oireachtas for the south coast of Ireland last month.

New Xylem booster set

Xylem held a major reception and product launch in the Talbot Hotel, Stillorgan, Co Dublin, recently to introduce the new GHVX commercial/industrial booster set and showcase a whole range of other innovative products from the company’s portfolio. These included the following:

SMB20 – This a variable speed booster set designed for water pressure boosting and transfer in applications such as residential buildings, hotels, restaurants and spas; ecocirc XL & XLD –These wet rotor circulators provide state-of-the-art technology in hydraulics, motors and intelligent controls;

Presfix packaged set – Automatic make-up units for sealed heating and chilled water systems, suitable for either domestic or industrial environments;

LNEEE – This is a variable speed “smart pump” with ultra-premium efficiency IES2 drive package, including a permanent magnet IE5 motor.

Nicolo Santon, one of Xylem’s leading technical trainers with regard to the movement and treatment of water, hosted the presentations along with Kevin Devine, Xylem Sales Director, Ireland.

The evening proved very successful with two formal presentations at 16.45pm and 18.45pm. Food and refreshments were served.

Right: Kevin Devine, Nicolo Santon and Jonathan Carty, all from Xylem, with Liam Gorman, Meinhardt.

M&ECA golf at Newlands Golf Club

The M&ECA annual golf outing took place in Newlands recently with Keith Burns, Tritech Group, claiming the prestigious MEBSCA President’s Prize. Keith Mooney, PJD, was second and Jason Doorley, Designer Group, third.

Teams participating included Burlington Engineering, CJK, Designer Group, Dornan Group, Jones Engineering, King and Moffatt, Kirby Group, Laminar Engineering, Leo Lynch, Mercury, PJ Duffy, Specialist Technical Services Group and Tritech Group.

BTU Nationals

The 2024 BTU nationals was organised by the BTU South East UK region and held at Old Thorns Golf Resort & Hotel in Hampshire. The very challenging course was designed by the golfer and TV commentator, Peter Alliss, who died in 2020.

BTU Ireland had two teams of 12 participating – Metropolitan and Provincial (pictured below) – with a total of 54 pairs of golfers competing from across the UK and Ireland.

Overall winners were the UK Northern Team with Irish Provincial coming in fourth and Irish Metropolitan finishing sixth.

The recent acquisition of Unitherm Heating Systems Ltd by the Purmo Group marks a new chapter in the development and evolution of the company. Established in 2004, Unitherm is one of Ireland’s leading and most innovative companies for the design, supply, commissioning and servicing of air-to-water heat pumps, underfloor heating and ventilation solutions. With offices in Dublin, Galway and Cork, it serves the heating needs of the entire country in both the residential and commercial sectors. It also has a sister company in the UK which was established in 2021.