The sleán and loy/spade may soon be replaced by wind and waves as Ireland's largest offshore island, Achill, Co Mayo, embraces the possibility of operating a self-sufficient renewable energy scheme.
According to results of a recent survey, Achill may join other European islands by harnessing its own independent energy system. Such a system could be operating by 2020.
A comprehensive survey undertaken by Mayo Energy Agency in conjunction with the EU ALTENER Islands Project, Údarás na Gaeltachta and local development body Comhlacht Forbartha Áitiúil Acla reveals that annual savings of €300,000 could be achieved if the island's energy consumption was operated more efficiently.
Mayo Energy Agency is one of 15 such agencies operating in the Republic, funded partly by county councils. The Achill Renewable Energy Research Project was funded under the ALTENER programme in partnership with similar agencies throughout Europe.
"The scope of the project is to promote the large-scale implementation of RES [renewable energy sources] in several European islands," Ms Eimear Lenehan, acting manager of Mayo Energy Agency, said.
"Islands present many advantages for promoting such a pilot action because they usually possess a significant RES potential which remains practically unexploited, whilst being highly dependant on energy imports. The results of the Achill survey clearly vindicate this notion."
At present the 3,000 inhabitants foot a €3 million annual energy bill. While peat remains the preferred option for domestic heating, with approximately 10,251 tonnes of the native fuel being burnt each year, the islanders largely depend on imported energy sources.
The residential sector consumes 316 tonnes of coal, 13,000 bales of briquettes, 805,916 litres of oil and over 3.6 million units of electricity annually, the audit reveals.
"One of our primary aims is to make energy more affordable for the community," Mr Terence Dever, manager of the Comhlacht, said.
"The survey has also confirmed a long-felt view that the weakness of the online-infrastructure on the island, and Curraun peninsula, which is also under the remit of the survey, is a serious impediment to industrial development."
Mr Dever was part of a delegation which undertook a four-day visit to the Danish island, Samso, which is completely self-sufficient in electricity generation. "We viewed projects at first hand and examined the potential for transferring some of their practical solutions to Achill," Mr Dever said. "We concluded that Samso, which is 1½ times the size of Achill and has a winter population of 5,000, is an ideal model for us."
The survey reveals that Achill has the potential to meet the current electrical demands of all residential homes on the island from wind energy alone.