Summary of ideas submitted in the Green business category…

• Incorporate blow holes in the coastline along cliff tops in order to harness tidal and magnetic energy
• Increase tax on heating oil in the hope of creating a new industry in renewable energy.
• Increase the availability of Irish grown food to meet our needs (like the Fife project in Scotland).
• Install Geothermal Heating Systems instead of ordinary boilers - they are up to six times as efficient as normal boilers
• Install small hydro turbines into remote rivers to harness their energy. These turbines can be disguised in wooden crates and would be designed so as not to damage the local environment.
• Install solar panels on all new schools being built around the country. This will show the children first hand what green energy can do, cover up to a quarter of the school’s heating costs and remove tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• Instead of people buying useless small wind turbines for their own house, form groups to try and fund larger scale turbines to power their own community.
• Insulate houses to a better standard.
• Introduce a €1 levy on all plastic/glass bottles that will be refunded if the glass/bottle is returned to the shop from where it was purchased. The equivalent scheme in Switzerland should be used as a benchmark.
• Introduce a derogation on stamp duty for two years if solar panels/ geothermal energy devices are installed within specified energy limits. Installers can be trained up by FAS. Older houses should also be encouraged to upgrade.
• Introduce a road tax scheme for cars converted to run on LPG. Any petrol car can be converted for €2,500 to run on LPG that produces 20% less emissions then a standard petrol or diesel car. If cars are converted to LPG they should be taxed at the new emissions based rates introduced in 2008, generating a better market for second-hand cars.
• Introduce a zero VAT or reduced VAT rate on all green products.
• Introduce an intelligent heating system that is connected to a database that updates the predicted weather for the next day and the heater will operate as required according to the weather forecast. This will reduce the excess use of heating on days that it isn’t required.
• Introduce environmental levies. An example would be the introduction of water rates, the more water you use the more you pay. This could be coupled with an exemption scheme to protect the more vulnerable in society.
• Introduce grants to businesses that create bio-diesel from farm/industrial waste. Then sell this bio-diesel to the government at a set price for use in all government vehicles, creating a market for the product. This could in turn lead to a public demand for the fuel if it is cheaper then the petrol/diesel alternative.
• Introduce strict legislation designed to stop people from going about their business in ways that is harmful to the economy, i.e. ban cars in cities etc.
• Introduce the Green Public Procurement Policy so that Ireland may reduce its carbon footprint and encourage the development of green technologies.
• Invest heavily in developing wind energy, use the talented unemployed workforce to come up with new ideas, and aim to be a net energy exporter in 5-7 years time.
• Invest in deep water offshore wind energy and HVDC cables. Use these resources to supply energy to mainland Europe and use the profit to pay for our own electricity needs.
• Invest in tidal wind turbines like the one in Northern Ireland. It may be a high initial cost but it will pay for itself after a number of years.
• Invest more heavily in alternative ways of producing energy through crops, waste, wave and wind energy.
• Ireland should aim to be the international centre of excellence and expertise on green energy.
• Ireland should become a world leader in wind and wave technology.
• Ireland should set up a programme to trap rainfall and store it for future use and/or sale to other countries.
• Ireland should view Spain as a benchmark and try to emulate the success they have had in introducing renewable energy projects.
• Ireland’s thousands of hectares of cutaway peat lands should be converted back into carbon accumulating systems from present carbon releasing systems.
• Irish farmers could devote their land to the production of a certain type of algae. This algae could then be used in Irish energy plants to produce a lower emissions output and create a new market for farmers.
• Launch a nationwide animal manures/slurries collection scheme and process this material into organic garden composts etc.
• Launch a well-resourced national programme to make Ireland a world leader in green energy production
• Launch an all-Ireland car pool website. Individuals use the site for free while private groups pay a nominal fee of €1. 50% of profits to go to charity.
• Launch the ‘World Green Awards’ in Dublin. It would be an annual event that would be held on St Patrick’s Day and would be hosted by a raft of Irish celebrities. This would promote Ireland as a green nation and would be an advocate for change.
• Lease areas of our coastal waters for energy generation (wave and tide), 10-year leases etc to companies like ocean power technology and open hydro, etc
• Link renewable energy supplies directly to power stations to generate steam. This will solve the intermittency problem with renewable energy and cut down on the fossil fuels being used.
• Major offshore wind farms, wind turbines on major commuter routes, a greenbelt around Dublin, the use of bio-crops to supply Dublin Bus with fuel.
• Make high energy consumers, such as hospitals, colleges etc install wind turbines on their grounds if feasible. This will lead to a reduction in energy costs in the long run and a reduction in green house gas production. In order to do so the Government will be required to update legislation and structures to do so.