CEO of Bord na Móna among those looking at issues of national importance currently in the news including Wind Farm Developments and Pylon Network Expansions

The 4^th Annual Energy Night, Ireland’s largest student-run energy event, will take place at NUI Galway’s New Engineering Building, Thursday 13^th February from 4pm-7pm.

Last year’s event, ‘Energising Ireland – What are our Options?’ received praise from academia, industry and the public for its engaging and thorough debate on Ireland’s potential future energy sources.

This year, Energy Night aims to examine the impact, conflicts and opportunities that arise in local communities through the development of large-scale energy projects of national importance. This is a highly topical subject, which is reflected in the current debates over wind farm development and pylon network expansion. It will discuss the impact of large scale energy projects both economically and aesthetically, conflicts that arise in balancing fiscal benefits with environmental concerns, and how to increase infrastructure in order to reduce CO2 emissions responsibly.

Energy Night will look at ‘Energy in Ireland – Local Wellbeing, National Priorities and Global Challenges’ and will commence at 4pm on Thursday 13^th February starting with guided tours of NUI Galway’s state-of-the-art, award-winning New Engineering Building, which itself is one of the country’s finest examples of modern, visually striking, energy efficient design.

A ‘Careers in Energy’ seminar will follow from 5pm to 6pm. Several speakers from major corporations like ESB International, Enerit and Éire Composites will deliver presentations about their companies and the various employment opportunities available in the energy and energy-related sector. They will highlight career opportunities for future engineers in an indigenous industry with massive growth potential, while offering a unique insight into their career paths and reveal the future of energy in Ireland.

From 6pm to 7pm, a ‘Student Energy Research Poster Showcase’ will be held in the Engineering Building’s foyer, and will feature posters highlighting cutting-edge energy research currently underway at NUI Galway and beyond. This includes Offshore Renewable Energy Systems (Wave, tidal and wind), Bioenergy research in the use of plant material as a fuel source, and the reduction of dependence on imported fuels.

The main event of the night, a panel discussion on wind energy, ‘Energy in Ireland – Local Wellbeing, National Priorities, Global Challenges’ will begin at 7pm and feature guest speakers Gabriel D’Arcy, CEO of Bord na Móna, Mike de Jong of CREWE (Communities for Responsible Engagement with Wind Energy) and John Fogarty, Chairman of Templederry Community Wind Farm, one of Ireland’s only community-run wind farms. The discussion will include a lengthy Q&A session with active participation from the audience.

The event is free of charge with refreshments provided. For more information visit www.nuigenergynight.com or email energy@socs.nuigalway.ie

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