At a time when waste disposal is causing headaches for those in City Hall, Galway city is to receive the European Energy Award on Friday. Galway is the first Irish city to receive such an award.

The eea is a quality management and labelling system that provides certification for towns and cities that have made a significant contribution to improving energy efficiency and increasing the use of renewable energy in their community.

The eea award is the culmination of an energy audit work programme conducted by Galway City Council and Galway Energy Agency Ltd (GEAL). "This award is the start of a strategy for a defined climate change and energy plan for Galway city, in co-operation with current National Policy and targets for energy and emissions reductions," stated Peter Keavney, GEAL Director. "This award is not saying that everything is perfect; it's an appreciation that most of the policy and procedures are in place or being developed to achieve quantifiable results."

The main objective of the eea is to highlight energy saving potential, provide effective management tools, certification and benchmarking. It allows municipalities to identify strengths, weaknesses and potential for improvement and, above all, implement effectively energy efficiency measures.

The European Energy Award is currently applied by over 320 local authorities in nine European countries including Ireland. Galway City was successful in achieving certification in August 2007. Mr Joe MacGrath, Galway City Manager, stated, "In line with the EU Services Directive, the local authority itself will identify energy and emissions reduction targets and value for money projects that lead to a reduced impact on the local environment."

The INTERREG IIIC Programme - enercy'regio is a Regional Framework Operation (RFO) that has in the past two years funded nine projects in five participating regions that focus on the uptake of renewables and contribute to sustainable development. By working in partnership with Crete, Germany, Italy and Sweden, Ireland's Border, Midland and Western Region has had the opportunity to share knowledge and experiences and to develop tailor-made instruments to enhance sustainable local development and tackle energy related problems.

As part of the enercy'regio project, the Border Midland and Western Region (BMW) Assembly has worked closely with SWS Group in guiding the regional implementation of pilot actions carried out by the three-sub projects on energy crops, energy saving and renewable energy as well as the energy awards.

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