Ireland Tests New Approach to Community-Led Renewable Energy

Dublin, Ireland (13 Jan. 2026) - Ireland is joining a major European initiative aimed at improving how communities produce, consume, and share renewable energy. The Innovative Transactive Renewable Energy Communities (INNO-TREC) initiative, funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe, aims to make renewable energy communities more accessible, efficient, and sustainable.

Ireland's Climate Action Plan aims for 80% renewable electricity by 2030, and community-led renewable projects could play a key role in achieving this goal. Irish collaborators EPRI Europe, DCSix Technologies, University College Cork (UCC), and the Dingle Hub are working together under the INNO-TREC initiative. Specifically, the country will host one of six demonstration sites across Europe, focusing on energy efficiency in agricultural solar photovoltaic (PV)-based communities. This pilot will explore opportunities for community-led solar projects under the Irish Renewable Electricity Support Scheme and examine how smart energy management can strengthen grid resilience through demand response actions.

Renewable Energy Communities bring together consumers, businesses, and local regulators to generate and share clean energy, typically through collective solar installations. Currently, many communities face significant challenges in bringing these systems online, including complex legal processes, technical hurdles, high upfront costs, and a lack of reliable tools to manage and optimise energy systems.
INNO-TREC addresses these challenges by developing free web-based tools that guide communities throughout the process, from planning and system design to daily management, monitoring, and performance optimisation.

The Irish demonstration project aims to reduce overall energy costs by 25%, increase self-consumption (using energy you produce) by 30%, boost user engagement by 30%, and improve grid support by 50%.
"Ireland's agricultural sector offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate how renewable energy can be integrated efficiently and sustainably," said Mario Couto, project lead at EPRI Europe. "At EPRI Europe, we will be developing a user-friendly online tool that helps communities understand their energy, so they can make informed decisions and get the most value from their renewable systems," he added.

University College Cork will bring its expertise in social sciences exploring the barriers, motivations and drivers from energy citizen and energy community perspectives, while DCSix Technologies will contribute with innovative platforms and solutions enabling the community to progress through projects in an effective and replicable fashion. The Dingle Hub will ensure strong local participation and share insights from one of Ireland's most active energy communities.

"This demonstration is about more than technology; it's about empowering people," said Deirdre de Bhailís, general manager at Dingle Hub. "We're testing a community-centric approach that combines solar PV with smart energy management, while encouraging participation and trust. If successful, this model could be replicated across Ireland to help meet the country's climate targets," she noted.

Added UCC Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir, "This new project builds on a fruitful and fulfilling 10-year collaborative research partnership with the Dingle Hub and wider community, exploring, supporting, and tracking their transition to a low-carbon future. The project's research findings will be used to inform wider policy and practices nationally."

"Substantial opportunities exist across the island of Ireland to accelerate communities' ability to plan, implement, operate, and leverage value from grid-scale developments," said Jonathan Sandham, managing director at DCSix Technologies. "INNO-TREC will enable a clear, replicable approach to de-risking projects and overcoming current challenges faced by communities."

The project will run through June 2029. With 20 partners from academia and industry, INNO-TREC will simultaneously operate solar PV demonstrations in five other countries: Greece, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Portugal, in a variety of uses, climatic conditions, and geographic regions.

For more information, visit https://europe.epri.com/project/inno-trec

Contact
Eunice Oliveira
Communications Associate, EPRI Europe
+353 (87)340 3913
eoliveira@epri.com
Nexus UCD, Blocks 9-10, Belfield Office Park, Beech Hill Road, D04 V2N9
Dublin, Ireland

About EPRI Europe
Ireland-based EPRI Europe DAC was established in 2019 by EPRI International Inc. as its European research arm. Founded in 1972, EPRI is the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, with offices around the world. Our trusted experts collaborate with more than 450 companies in 45 countries, driving innovation to ensure the public has clean, safe, reliable, and affordable access to electricity across the globe. Together...shaping the future of energy.®

This release was published on openPR.