This article is from page 4 of the 2011-10-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
TWENTY jobs are to be created in Shannon between now and the end of next January through the launch of a new company which manufactures, installs and maintains small domestic wind-turbines for homes, small businesses and farms.
The Eco-Eir company has just been set up by the O’Mara family in Shannon who have been operating the Force Advanced Technology Solutions manufacturing company in Shannon for the last 20 year.
The company aims to generate between 15 and 20 jobs in the Shannon area over the next four months by employing people directly and by indirect employment through local suppliers.
“Force has been doing a lot of work in the renewable energy over the last few years so I stepped back and saw that there was a gap in the market – especially in the wind energy sector,” said Steve O’Mara, Managing Director of Eco-Eir.
“The product has been designed by us, 99 per cent of it has been manufactured by us and all 100 per cent of it has been built or manufactured in Ireland. We do have some competitors in the market but it is mostly in the very small domestic sector or for very large wind-farms. We are going for something in between. It is not some flimsy thing that you can bolt onto the side of your house, this is a well manufactured top-of-the-range product. And that is why we give a full 10 year warranty with every generator.”
Depending on the prevailing wind of a particular site, Steve estimated that his product could supply all the electricity needed for most small businesses or farms and leave most domestic users and new contributors of electricity a product which they can sell back to the ESB.
“The average figure for a family of four people is 5,480 units of electricity per year – that is for an average family with all the usual utilities. Based on the average wind speed in Ireland which is 6 metres per second, we will be able to generate 10,000 units per year. Which is almost twice what the average family will need,” continued Steve.
“If you are an ESB customer you can then sell that electricity back to the grid. So instead of you getting a bill from the ESB each month they will send you out a cheque once a year.”
The windmills are small enough to be exempt from planning permission and Eco-Eir will do a free site survey to determines the average wind speed and average electricity generation capacity of a particular area. To find out more about the company visit www.eco-eir.com.