ireland's green powerhouse

The University led the way in renewable energy research with a number of high profile events and projects making the news through the year.

The world’s leading experts in renewable energy visited Belfast’s Odyssey centre for the Biennial Conference of the Solar Energy Society organized by the University. The conference brought together experts from Denmark, New Zealand, Russia, France, India, the UK and Ireland to share developments and reveal new ways of effectively and efficiently harnessing renewable energy sources to meet the energy demands of modern society.

Professor Brian Norton, event organizer and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment spoke of the importance of the event, saying:
“This conference of the Solar Energy Society is a crucial landmark in developing a renewable energy across the island of Ireland. Having a strong local renewable energy industry providing employment, economic development and environmental gains is possible here in Northern Ireland. The knowledge gained and the links made during the conference will help make this a reality.”

State of the art
A new multi-million pound state-of-the-art research centre was announced by Professor Norton, at a reception in Belfast’s City Hall during the conference. The centre brings together scientists from the Centre for Sustainable Technologies and the Northern Ireland Centre for Energy Research.

Funding for the project, which gives Northern Ireland cutting edge research into ‘green’ power, will come from the UK-based Science Research Investment Fund. Sir Reg Empey, Minister for Enterprise Trade and Investment welcomed the project which he said would make Northern Ireland the envy of the rest of Europe.

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