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main-admin-000452024-10-07 10:37:452024-10-07 10:51:48Net Zero Cities
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main-admin-000452024-08-08 10:40:512024-09-13 14:06:12LIFE IP Wild Atlantic Nature
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main-admin-000452024-08-08 10:40:182024-10-14 11:24:28UrbanCOOP
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main-admin-000452024-08-08 10:39:452024-10-14 11:24:40LOTTI
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main-admin-000452024-08-08 10:38:242024-10-14 11:24:52GREENHEALTH
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main-admin-000452024-08-08 10:26:042024-10-14 11:25:02BIOWINDOver the past 20 years the NWRA have been involved in many Interreg funded projects.
ICaRE4Farms – Increase the capacity of Renewable Energies (RE) in Farms in the North West Europe Region by using Solar Thermal Energy
ICaRE4Farms (I4F) was a project intending to boost the use of solar thermal energy (STE) in farming in NWE, to contribute to reduce GHG emissions and increase the share of renewable energies, to help the transition to a low-carbon economy and meet the EU 2030 goal of 27% share for RE.
STE is an affordable RE to heat water and has a huge potential to replace fossil energies.
However, in the NWE region, it only provides 1.1% of total energy consumption and 0.25% of that in agriculture, due to the low efficiency of current systems in areas with low solar irradiance.
Through transnational cooperation, I4F tested the next generation STE systems in 4 agricultural sectors that require hot water to feed livestock (calves) and heat farm buildings (poultry, pigs) and greenhouses (horticulture). The technology that I4F tested is up to 3 times more efficient than traditional STE systems (900 vs. 350kWh/m²). It has shown to be reliable, affordable, easy to install and long lifetime (40 years) with low maintenance requirements. It allows a 70% reduction of GHG emitted for water heating. The partners shared good practices and implemented the solution taking into account the features of each region and sector, 4 pilot sites were installed and monitored to test and demonstrate the technology, also supporting the deployment of other flagship STE systems to improve the economic model and validate the GHG cuts. The outcome of the monitoring activities fed into a feasibility assessment tool and a digital model of the STE system, including software for the farmers to manage the system. The project partners built a transnational network of distributors and installers to roll-out STE in NWE, to lead the market uptake.
In 10 years, it is expected that nearly 1,000 STE systems will be operational in NWE (10 new sites per year in the first 5 years and 20 in the next 5), saving 92 ktCO2 per year, equivalent to 1,4% of CO2 emissions in agriculture in NWE in 2016 and generate 200 new jobs.
SPARA 2020 was a three year (NPA) project lead by HITRANS (Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership Scotland).
Along with the NWRA, the partnership was composed of further eight European partners from the Northern Periphery and Arctic Area North West Europe Programme area. In addition there were 13 associate partners, including Donegal and Ireland West Airport (Knock). The aim of the project was to apply innovative ideas to maintain and develop robust and competitive regional airports within the NPA.
The NWRA (with a budget of is €235,000) were the lead on Non-Aeronautical Services part of the project which reviewed, identified and implemented Best Practice approaches to optimise the impact these services at Public Service Airports. Pilot projects were implemented in 4 regional airports, Donegal and Ireland West Airport Knock (Ireland) and Oban and Inverness (Scotland).
View the SPARA Website here
Slow Adventure in Northern Territories (SAINT) was a three-year programme being managed with support from the Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme (NPA) project which started in April 2015.
The aim of the project was to realise the potential of the programme areas’ competitive advantage in developing slow adventure. The NWRA and Leitrim County Council are partners in the project along with 9 partners from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. There were a further 30 associated partners in the project. Events were held in all regions to encourage SMEs to become involved in the project. The project sought to extend the marketing reach of businesses in the slow adventure tourism sector, in order to encourage more tourists to come to these areas to enjoy and experience the outdoors and engage with remote, wild and nature-rich places.
The project has given SMEs from our region involved in slow tourism activities an opportunity to develop partnerships and share experiences with other partner SMEs in Northern Periphery Regions by traveling to experience similar activities in the partner countries. The Irish tourism providers have also received training in a variety of marketing and promotional activities and a website to promote the concept and the SMEs in the region involved will be launched in August 2017.
The project has also produced a Consumer research report and a report on Review of New Technology in Promoting Slow Adventure will be available soon. Irish tourism providers from this region that have participated to date include: Cycle Trails; Old Rectory; Adventure Gently; Jo Suppers and Yoga; Leitrim Craft and Design; Way to Go; Organic Centre; Leitrim Surf; The Food Hub.
The agricultural sector accounts for almost 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, mainly for food production and transport. While there is an enormous potential to produce renewable energy on farms due to the availability of wind, sun, biomass and agricultural waste, important barriers and challenges still remain.
Recent studies have proven that the main barriers identified by farmers to produce renewable energy are: complex permits and subsidies’ procedures, high investment costs, limited access to credit and doubts about profitability. Subsidies and feed-in tariffs are a key factor in encouraging farmers to shift towards a more environmentally friendly production and use of energy.
The EU’s rural development policy helps the rural areas meet economic, environmental and social challenges, and it shares objectives with other ESIF funds. MS and regions draw up their rural development programmes based on the needs of their territories and addressing some of the common EU priorities. At least 30% of funding for each RDP must be dedicated to measures relevant for the environment and climate change.
The main objective of this project was to develop measures that encourage the production and use of RE in the agricultural and rural sector. AgroREs supported this sector by solving its energy needs in a sustainable, economically viable and socially responsible way.
Website: https://www.interregeurope.eu/agrores/
Period: 2014-2020
Project start date: 2019-08-01
Project end date: 2023-01-31
Total budget: €1,540,286.00
PreservatiOn and promotion of cUltural and natural heRitage through GreenWAYs
The OUR WAY project aimed to contribute to the conserving, protecting, promoting and developing natural and cultural heritage in Europe using Greenways by improving the policy instruments related to the cultural and natural quality of the territories involved, including tools for their governance and developing specific measures for their promotion and preservation.
The project partnership was composed by 6 European regions in Spain, Ireland, Poland, France and Hungary with different levels at developing, managing and promoting natural and cultural heritage in and around Greenways as well as an advisory partner, the European Network of Greenways with large experience and knowledge in the project field.
The project intended to improve coordination among the different key actors:
Interregional cooperation is essential in order to identify, exchange and transfer of practices among regions and, what is more important to plan and prepare specific Action Plans to integrate lessons learned from the interregional cooperation in regional policies programmes.
The launch of the OUR WAY project came at an ideal time for the Northern & Western region as the Irish government’s Department of Transport, Tourism and Sports had recently a launched a National Strategy for the Development of Greenways along with a fund of €53m for Local Authorities to develop regional and National Greenways. In addition to this, all of the Local Authorities in the Northern & Western Region are currently and developing and expanding their Greenway Network and the project provides regional stakeholders with the opportunity to learn from Good Practices and models in other EU regions.
Web: http://www.interregeurope.eu/OURWAY
Period: 2014-2020
Project start date: 2018-06-01
Project end date: 2022-11-30
Total budget/expenditure: € 9647,244
EUREGA’s main objective was to have food, food habits and gastronomy included and recognised in EU, regional and national strategies and policies. As these should be seen both as a cultural asset and strong element in regional cultural identity and as a necessary tool to boost sustainable products and services.
Agri-food is Ireland’s and particularly the North-Western Region’s oldest and largest indigenous industry, deeply embedded in the landscape, history and culture of the country. It is not just cultural heritage though, but its strategic importance to the Irish economy, its roots in local communities and its strengthening global reach (the industry provides quality, safe and nutritious food to consumers in at least 175 countries around the world) that make it a sector unlike any other. A renewed focus on export growth, combined with a longstanding commitment to excellence, have, in recent years, created a host of new opportunities for established industry players as well as emerging entrepreneurs.
The major challenge faced is ‘scale and sustainability’ of the Region’s agri-food companies. Many are family run businesses that need targeted and integrated support. For producers and processors to capture the maximum share of domestic and overseas markets there will have to be a significant increase in the level of agri-food production both in the Western Region and in Northern Areas.
Galway, West of Ireland was awarded the title of EU region of Gastronomy for 2018 and as a project partner in the EUREGA project, the Northern and Western Regional Assembly built on the success of this title and highlighted and recognised the importance of Gastronomy across the Northern and Western Region in future policies.
Web: http://www.interregeurope.eu/EUREGA
Period: 2014-2020
Project start date: 2018-06-01
Project end date: 2022-05-31
Total budget: € 1.876.873,00
The TRINNO Project brought together partners from Ireland, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia and Spain to achieve an overall objective of promoting competitiveness in EU regions through improving policy instruments for business support systems that focus on applying digital innovation in the local economies.
The overall budget was €1.2m and the project was scheduled to run for five years up to 2021 however the project has been extended to 2022.
In Ireland a local stakeholder group comprised of Local Enterprise Offices, Local Authorities, Irish Food CoOperative and the Upper Shannon Erne Future Economy initiative, was established that helped develop a framework that addressed different company needs, identified who should be engaged, addressed the common challenges and the necessary elements to help companies succeed.
Work in the region was completed and supported by interregional activities and workshops resulting in a draft action plan. Draft action plans were also produced in each of the other partner regions and all plans underwent peer review and expert analysis before final versions were agreed.
Digital tech SMEs at the service of Regional Smart Specialisation Strategies
The DEVISE project aimed to transfer technology provided by SMEs and start-ups in the ICT sector into Smart industry sectors including marine and manufacturing. By doing so the project fostered growth of the SMEs and start-ups in the ICT sector while simultaneously enhancing the competitiveness of the Smart industries in the region.
Although significant progress has been made in the definition of more focused policies supporting these strategic sectors, more coordinated actions are required to foster the growth of digital SMEs providing innovative solutions that allow other sectors to be more competitive.
The strength of the DEVISE project was in the collaborative nature of the cooperation across the 10 EU partner regions. Through the project, the 10 project partners from Ireland, Romania, Spain, Bulgaria, Finland, United Kingdom, France and Belgium established 10 regional digital support environments. Policy makers, business support organisations, educational centres and SMEs from the digital and other smart specialisation sectors were the main participants and beneficiaries of these environments which have lastes beyond DEVISE’s lifetime. These environments improved coordination and increased collaboration between the digital sector and those belonging to other smart specialisation sectors.
By 2021, the DEVISE project aimed to increase by 15% the number of digital tech SMEs enabling competitiveness in other regional strategic sectors through improved supporting policy instruments.
In doing so, the project followed an innovative intersectoral approach involving all the relevant stakeholders in the process of analysing the current context, learning from other EU regions and defining improved policies integrating the lessons learnt.
Web: http://www.interregeurope.eu/DEVISE
Period: 2014-2020
Project start date: 2018-06-01
Project end date: 2022-11-30
Total budget: EUR 1.782.367,00
The objective of the MOSES project is to examine the ‘blue’ growth path for the sustainable development of the major sectors operating in the Atlantic space as envisaged in the Atlantic Action Plan. MOSES will quantify blue growth for key marine sectors and develop a common methodology for the quantitative assessment of sectoral pressures on the marine environment and the vulnerability of marine and coastal areas.
The methodology will contribute to the joint implementation of integrated marine industry sustainability assessment toolkits across the Atlantic region.
To achieve these aims the consortium will work on four major blocks:
Northern & Western Regional Assembly
Dillon House, Ballaghaderreen
Co. Roscommon
F45 WY26
Ireland
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