FuturEnergy Ireland and EnergyCloud have joined forces to fight fuel poverty.

FuturEnergy Ireland has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with EnergyCloud Ireland, which marks the start of a collaboration to address fuel poverty by using surplus renewable energy. The company is the first renewable energy developer to commit to the EnergyCloud scheme.

Fuel poverty affects 550,000 families in Ireland and up to 43% of households are at risk, according to a report from the ESRI. Meanwhile, EirGrid Group figures show curtailed – or ‘dispatch-down’ – energy from wind resources was 1,124 GWh in 2023, the equivalent of 8.9% of total available wind energy.

EnergyCloud has an innovative answer to both these problems. The social enterprise enables surplus renewable energy, which would otherwise go to waste, to be re-directed to provide a free tank of hot water in homes struggling with fuel poverty. This is achieved by fitting homes with smart technology designed to receive re-directed renewable electricity.

For FuturEnergy Ireland, a joint venture company owned by Coillte and ESB this partnership underscores its strong commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. Peter Lynch, CEO of FuturEnergy Ireland, said: “At FuturEnergy Ireland, we believe that access to basic utilities like hot water should be a human right, not a privilege. Today, with the signing of this MOU, we are excited to start exploring the ways in which our portfolio of wind projects can support EnergyCloud’s mission and provide opportunities to help families in fuel poverty.

“Our company target is to delivery 1GW of renewable energy by 2030 – and we want to see all of that clean, green electricity put to good use. EnergyCloud is one way to achieve this. As a renewable energy developer, we have a responsibility to contribute towards a more sustainable, equitable society.”

John Mullins, Chairperson of EnergyCloud Ireland, said: “This is an exciting development for EnergyCloud in Ireland as we sign this MOU with a major renewable energy leader such as FuturEnergy Ireland. The MOU sets out our shared vision of how we can collaborate to support families in fuel poverty, while also ensuring we use as much of the surplus renewable energy as is possible.

“On behalf of EnergyCloud, I want to commend the leadership shown by FuturEnergy Ireland and their CEO Peter Lynch, becoming the first renewable energy developer/generator to sign an MOU to partner with EnergyCloud and other stakeholders to collectively tackle fuel poverty.”