Coventry University has teamed up with groups from Ireland,
Finland, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Estonia and Bulgaria to explore
the prospects for clusters of companies to collaborate in making
energy savings and adopting renewable energy technologies.
The project, called "Regional Clusters for Energy Planning," is
supported by the EU's Intelligent Energy Programme and aims to
implement pilot projects in each of the eight member countries.
In addition, the partners will develop a new policy tool to be
rolled out across Europe as a way of integrating energy and
regional policy.
Although led by Shannon Development in Ireland, Coventry
University has a unique role in the project in that it has been
charged with promoting renewable energy use across the various
industrial clusters.
Dr Les Duckers from Coventry University said: "Industrial
attitudes to energy have changed over the years, due to the
increasing awareness of the environmental impact and the rising
cost of energy consumption.
"Companies are now asking what they can do to help reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and this project is designed to find
practical solutions".
Work on the project is expected to be complete by the end of
2011 and has the potential to revolutionise the way industries all
over Europe use energy. At the end of the project, a trans-national
blueprint will be produced to show regional business clusters
throughout Europe how they can reduce energy use and employ
renewable energy to save money.
To take part, companies are asked to fill in a questionnaire
about their energy consumption. Any companies wishing to
contribute should contact Dr. Les Duckers on 024 7688 8283 or email
him at l.duckers@coventry.ac.uk