October 14th 9:20am - 4:00pm
Guinness Enterprise Centre GEC,
Taylor's Lane, The Liberties, Dublin, DO8 ET2R
If you have any questions or trouble registering contact us at info@techiesgogreen.com
SPONSORED BY OUR SUSTAINABLE ASSET FINANCE PARTNER:
Conference Theme
Navigating The Next Decade of Energy Transformation
Leave With Greater Clarity
Our conference will provide you with greater clarity on the shifting Irish energy landscape, and will give you an understanding of the risks and opportunities it’s creating.
Rather than a theoretical discussion, the conference focuses on how the energy transition is actually being implemented in practice and what it means for organisations that use significant energy across their buildings and operations.
It is intended to provide finance, operations, and policy leaders with a better understanding of how this rapid transformation of the energy market, and individual behind the meter energy upgrades, can impact costs, operations, investment decisions, and competitiveness.
Conference Highlights
Featuring Mike Berners-Lee as keynote speaker
As a pioneering researcher and author of There Is No Planet B and How Bad Are Bananas?, Mike brings a rare ability to connect global climate science with the practical decisions businesses must make today. This is an unmissable opportunity to hear from one of the world’s most influential thinkers shaping how we understand and respond to the climate emergency and the energy transition under way.
Moving Towards An 80% Renewables Grid And Its Effect On Businesses
Ireland's journey towards an electricity grid powered by up to 80% renewables by 2030 will reshape the way businesses buy, use, and manage energy. This conference will examine the growing influence of dynamic tariffs and demand response, and why companies can no longer afford to be passive energy consumers. Hear from industry leaders on how behind-the-meter solar, battery storage, and smart energy technologies can help businesses shift demand away from peak periods, cut energy costs, and build long-term resilience in an increasingly volatile energy market.
Setting Up A Group Energy Scheme
Martin O’Brien and Colm Byrne will talk about their work setting up and running Graiguenamanagh Energy Town (GET) project. Learn how a Group Energy Scheme enables business parks, sports clubs, and community organisations to generate, store and share renewable energy, creating a more affordable, resilient and sustainable energy future. Group Energy Schemes can benefit members by reducing their energy bills, generating income from surplus renewable electricity, and reinvesting savings into facilities, services and local development. Business groups, sports clubs, and communities can become energy prosumers, keeping more energy value within their local economy while supporting long-term energy security and sustainability.
The Battery Storage Revolution
As battery storage becomes increasingly affordable, we explore how battery storage can unlock demand flexibility by shifting consumption away from peak periods responding to price signals, integrating onsite renewable generation, and providing extra energy capacity to overcome grid limits. Get insights into battery storage options, smart energy integration, energy arbitrage, peak demand management, demand response participation, and selecting the right battery capacity for your operations.
Grants & Green Finance Focus
Discover how businesses and communities can accelerate their clean energy transition with the support of SEAI grants and innovative green finance solutions. This session will provide practical insights into the funding opportunities available for energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy projects, battery storage, and community energy initiatives, helping organisations reduce costs, lower carbon emissions, and strengthen their competitiveness. Hear from experts on how grant funding and sustainable finance can work together to unlock investment, de-risk projects, and enable a faster, more affordable path to a net-zero future.
Featuring Industry Specialists, Business Leaders, And Leading Names In Climate Action
Laura Heuston
Co-Founder and Partner
Sustainability Works
Fergus Sharkey
Head of Business Supports at SEAI
Colm Byrne
Energy Entrepreneur, and Director of
Glas Energy
Martin O’Brien
Graiguenamanagh Energy Town (GET)
Eamonn McSweeney
Managing Director
at E-Station
Duncan Stewart
Architect,
TV Producer, Environmental Champion
Prof Fabiano Pallonetto
Prof in Management Information Systems,
Maynooth University
Peter Lantry
Managing Director,
at Equinix
Alan Wyley
CEO, at EnergyCloud Ireland
Jerry Sweeney
Founder & Managing Director
at Cloud CIX
Lucila Dotto
Global Head of Sustainability at Project Management Institute
Barry Sherry
CEO & Co-Founder
at ACEL Energy
Agenda
8:45am - 9:20am
Registration
Take the opportunity to get tea, coffee, snacks and network with fellow attendees. Visit our exhibitors to get expert advice and attend educational demos. Set up one to one consultations on your requirements.
9:20pm - 9:40am
Fergus Sharkey
Head of Business Supports at Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)
Opening Address
Fergus Sharkey will open the Smarter Energy Challenge conference and speak about opportunities and challenges businesses face as they transition to cleaner, smarter, and more resilient energy solutions.
9:40am - 10:10am
Mike Berners-Lee
World renowned consultant, author, climate systems thinker, and sustainability strategist
Keynote Address
Hear from one of the world’s most influential thinkers shaping how we understand and respond to the climate emergency and the energy transition under way. Mike focuses on navigating the global "polycrisis", interconnected challenges spanning the climate and nature emergencies, biodiversity loss, and resource limits.
As a pioneering researcher and author of There Is No Planet B, How Bad Are Bananas?, The Burning Question, and A Climate Of Truth, Mike has boldly claimed that "the planet doesn't care how much renewable energy we generate, only how little fossil fuel we burn" and argues that humanity cannot solve the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and economic instability without radically dismantling systemic dishonesty in politics, business, and the media.
10:10am - 10:40am
Colm Byrne
Energy Entrepreneur & Director at Glas Energy
Martin O’Brien
Graiguenamanagh Energy Town (GET)
Graiguenamanagh Energy Town (GET): Achieving 100% energy self-sufficiency for the town by 2035
Colm and Martin will present a case study on the goals, challenges, and achievements of the Graiguenamanagh Energy Town (GET) project. This project has set a national example for other business and community group energy schemes.
The Graiguenamanagh Energy Town (GET) project has been underway since 2020 making Graiguenamanagh the first community in Ireland that will generate, share and sell energy on a local level by using a Community Virtual Power Plant (CVPP). Combined with battery storage, GET has installed Solar PV systems on the roofs of Barrow Valley Tourism Hub and local homes at no cost to the owners. GET rent the roof space from the owners and then sell the generated energy back to the homeowner for the term of the contract. Any unused energy is sold back to the grid.
GET plans to install more Solar PV systems throughout the community, to both commercial and residential residents.
10:40am - 11:10am
Prof. Fabiano Pallonetto
Professor in Management Information Systems, Maynooth University
-
Professor Fabiano Pallonetto is a Professor at Maynooth University’s School of Business and Director of the IRESI.eu Centre. His work brings together energy systems, data analytics and artificial intelligence to explore how buildings and communities can use electricity more flexibly and integrate renewable energy. Drawing on experience as a researcher, data scientist and entrepreneur, he focuses on turning research into practical solutions for a smarter, lower-carbon grid.
Beyond Energy Retrofit: Connecting Buildings to a More Responsive Grid
Imagine buildings that know when renewable electricity is generating, anticipate pressure on the grid, and respond around the needs of the people inside them. An AI-driven layer could connect dynamic tariffs and grid signals with heating, EV charging and storage, turning complex information into timely action. This talk looks ahead to a future in which homes and businesses help reduce renewable dispatch-down, avoid costly peaks, reduce emissions and become active partners in a more flexible, resilient electricity system.
11:10am - 11:30am
Coffee Break
Take the opportunity to get tea, coffee, snacks and network with fellow attendees. Visit our exhibitors to get expert advice and attend educational demos. Set up one to one consultations on your requirements.
11:30am - 12:00pm
Mike Berners-Lee
World renowned consultant, author, climate systems thinker, and sustainability strategist
Learn More»
Lucila Dotto
Global Head of Sustainability at the Project Management Institute.
in
Duncan Stewart
Architect, TV Producer, and Renowned Environmental Champion. Learn More»
Panel Discussion
The Climate Has Changed: Can Businesses Change Fast Enough?
Climate change is no longer a future challenge to prepare for. Its impacts are already being felt through more frequent extreme weather events, supply chain disruption, energy market volatility, resource constraints, and growing economic uncertainty. Although we have most of the technology we need to combat the climate crisis, we are accelerating into a polycrisis of climate, food security, biodiversity, pollution, inequality, and more.
Businesses face increasing expectations from customers, investors, regulators, and employees to demonstrate meaningful climate action. Are factors such as organisational inertia, lack of leadership focus, risk aversion, and competing priorities getting in the way?
This 30-minute panel discussion will examine the business and moral case for accelerated climate action and explores what pragmatic climate action leadership looks like.
12:00pm - 12:30pm
Ismail Usen Ibrahim Rahmathulla
Huawei
Dynamic Tariffs & Flexibility In Ireland: Smart Energy Consumers and Prosumers - Unlocking Value from Dynamic Tariffs and Flexibility
Following the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) mandate requiring all major Irish suppliers to offer dynamic pricing, consumers can now access wholesale electricity prices that update every 30 minutes. Without energy storage, capitalising on these moving price windows requires intrusive business operational shifts. This session looks at how battery storage systems can create the opportunity automate this process through price arbitrage while also mitigating Ireland's historic €140 million annual wind curtailment issue, and discharge during expensive peak periods. This session will look at how smart battery integration acts as a vital tool for grid stability, carbon reduction, and delivering substantial bill savings for flexible consumers.
12:30pm - 1:00pm
Barry Sherry
CEO & Co-Founder
ACEL Energy
From Planning to Performance: Delivering a Successful Battery Storage Project
For energy-intensive business facilities and hotels, battery energy storage is rapidly becoming a practical solution for reducing electricity costs, improving energy resilience, and maximising the value of on-site renewable generation. This session will provide a practical guide to the planning, design and installation of behind-the-meter battery storage systems, exploring how organisations can adopt a staged, modular approach that aligns investment with operational needs and future growth.
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Lunch Break
Take the opportunity to get food and refreshments and network with fellow attendees. Visit our exhibitors to get expert advice and attend educational demos. Set up one to one consultations on your requirements.
2:00pm - 2:20pm
EnergyCloud - Turning “Discarded” Energy Into A Force For Good
Recent spikes in gas and electricity prices has once again highlighted the ongoing problem of fuel poverty. Alan Wyley tells us about the not‑for‑profit social enterprise EnergyCloud which redirects surplus renewable electricity (mainly curtailed wind energy) into homes experiencing energy poverty. Through partnerships with government, local authorities, approved housing bodies and energy partners, EnergyCloud delivers free, clean energy to homes across Ireland. Alan goes into detail about how EnergyCloud remotely switches on devices in recipient homes (e.g. water heaters) to absorb this surplus electricity that would otherwise be “discarded”.
Alan Wyley
Chief Executive Officer, EnergyCloud Ireland
2:20pm - 2:50am
Eamonn McSweeney
Managing Director
E-Station
The Evolution of EV Charging: The Case For Action
From humble beginnings, the evolution of Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure has traced a path from the purely functional to highly strategic. In a flexible energy ecosystem learn how EV's and EV infrastructure can become a core component of a broader energy management environment. Featuring case studies from DHL, Pfizer, A Post, Dublin Bus & Bus Eireann. Learn about the evolution of their EV and charging infrastructure.
2:50pm - 3:20pm
Fergus Sharkey
Head of Business Supports at Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)
Laura Heuston
Co-Founder and Partner
Sustainability Works
Financing the Transition: A Guide to SEAI Grants and Green Finance Options
Access to grants, capital, and innovative funding models will be critical to accelerating Ireland's energy transition. This presentation explores how SEAI grants and green finance models are helping businesses overcome upfront cost barriers and deploy low-carbon energy solutions at scale.
Attendees will gain insights into the financing mechanisms for their renewable energy upgrade projects, enabling organisations to achieve their sustainability goals faster.
3:20pm - 4:00pm
Peter Lantry
Managing Director, Equinix Ireland
Jerry Sweeney
Founder and Managing Director, CloudCIX
The Big Debate - Is the Irish grid ready for the clean energy transition and how is it affecting the Irish business energy transition?
Join us for a lively panel discussion exploring the opportunities and challenges of Ireland's transition to a smarter, more flexible energy system.
With the rapid rise in electricity demand, increasing delays for companies getting grid connections and delays for wind and solar connecting to the grid, is this growing bottleneck throttling business growth and increasing or decreasing the value of on-site solar generation and battery storage?
Attendees will gain valuable insights, real-world perspectives, and the opportunity to hear differing views on the technologies and strategies shaping the future of energy in Ireland and how the next decade will shape business expansion, renewables uptake, and energy costs in Ireland.
4:00pm - 4:05pm
Michael O’Hara
Co-Founder
Techies Go Green
Closing Address
Michael will close the Smarter Energy Challenge conference and summarise the takeaway from the day and the opportunities for businesses as they transition to cleaner, smarter, and more resilient energy solutions.
Reserve Your Place!
Register For Our Smarter Energy Challenge Programme!
Getting There
Address
The Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC)
Taylor’s Lane, The Liberties,
Dublin 8
Ireland, D08 YPP9
Please Note: In recognition of our climate responsibilities, we encourage everyone attending to use public transport for all or part of their commute. Where a car is needed for part of your journey, there are a number of park and ride facilities available connecting to the Luas Red Line service which has a stop nearby. Car parking spaces are very limited at the Guinness Enterprise Centre venue so we have recommended nearby public parking.
-
The nearest street tram service close to the Guinness Enterprise Centre is the LUAS Red Line which stops at James which is about a ten minute walk to the GEC event venue.
Visit LUAS Red Line Map>>
LUAS Red Line Stop When Coming From Outside Dublin (South)
James Stop - Use this stop when travelling from the south west into the city including from the Luas stop - Red Cow Park & Ride>> facility next to the N7 or the Luas stop Cheeverstown Park & Ride>> facility or the Tallaght Park & Ride>> facility.
LUAS Red Line Stop When ComingFrom - The City Centre, Busaras Bus Station and the main Train Stations
James Stop - Use this stop when travelling from the city centre or from the Luas stops next to the railway stations - Houston Station>> for all trains from the south and west or Connolly Station>> for all trains from the north or connecting to the Connolly Station DART>> suburban commuter line or the Busaras Central Bus Station>> for all major bus routes.
-
The nearest bus stops are:
Stop 1940, James Street, James's Gate
Stop 1997, James Street, James's Gate
It is a five minute walk from this stop to the Guinness Enterprise Centre.
To plan your bus route and see a map visit Transport For Ireland>> and enter the above bus stop options as your destination.
-
There are a number of options when travelling from Dublin Airport listed HERE>>. You can connect with the public transport LUAS Red line from a number of stops in the city centre. The major points are:
For O’Connell Street go to Abbey Street just off O’Connell St. to reach the Abbey St. Luas Red Line stop.
For Connolly Station>> the Luas Red Line stop is just outside the station.
For Houston Station>> the Luas Red Line stop is just outside the station.
Plan A Route
Alternatively plan your public transport route using the Transport For Ireland>> planner
-
There is very limited car parking at the Guinness Enterprise Centre.
Where a car is needed for part of your journey, there are a number of park and ride facilities available connecting to the Luas service which has a stop nearby. Car parking spaces are very limited at the Guinness Enterprise Centre venue. See the Luas Red Line guide above.
Nearby parking options:
Thomas Street Parking (10 minute walk)4 Oliver Bond St, Usher's Quay, Dublin
53.343812, -6.280170
Google Maps Location - https://maps.app.goo.gl/r69rqHcJquM3sdiN9
Google's Recommended Walking Directions To GEC - https://maps.app.goo.gl/N61dMsS1tDUpqdDa6
ESB Car Charging - St John's Rd W, Saint James, Dublin 8>>Please Note: Car parking and charging locations provided here are suggestions only. Please consult Dublin City maps for a more extensive list of options. Parking and charging at these locations is done at owners risk.