Many plaudits have been given to Roscommon County Council (RCC), in association with Galway Roscommon Educational Training board, who continue to deliver two innovative dedicated training courses.
The courses, the EV (electric vehicle) and WT (wind turbine) Training Programmes, are supported by Roscommon County Council’s Climate Action team, supported by GRETB (Galway Roscommon Education Training Board) and funded by the EU Just Transition Fund. The programme is delivered from a dedicated, fully equipped workshop, located on the Racecourse Road in Roscommon town.
The first course, on DIY wind turbine construction, began in December 2024, and has just completed its tenth iteration. This course is eight days in duration and provides the participants with all the necessary skills to construct their own domestic scaled turbine and take advantage of the great wind resources to generate renewable energy.
Developed to provide upskilling opportunities to the communities most affected by the process of Just Transition in the midlands, the course provides a practical route to decarbonizing electricity generation locally.
Small-scale turbine construction also enables adaptation to the impacts of climate change, providing an alternative power source following outages resulting from storms such as Storm Éowyn, which caused such widespread local damage and hardship.
This micro-generation also has the potential to be used on a stand-alone, off-grid basis, to potentially develop agricultural buildings located in more remote and inaccessible areas. Participants have had a positive experience, and many have continued to work on micro-generation projects across the county and region.
Courses on EV maintenance/repair commenced in autumn of last year and are fully accredited by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI). These courses are presented at various levels and are suitable for a wide range of participants.
Students completing the training so far so far have included mechanics, driving instructors, first responders and members of the public wishing to learn more about electric vehicles. The training programme is facilitating the just transition process by providing dedicated training and skills locally to broaden employment prospects for participants.
The availability of local maintenance will also help to further mainstream the use of electric vehicles, supporting local and national initiatives and funding to enhance charging infrastructure, something that Roscommon County Council is fully engaged in with a number of activities and projects ongoing.
All courses in the EV-WT Training Programme are fully funded and will run until the end of the funding period at the end of September this year. Expressions of interest are invited for both courses and can be submitted by registering at fetchcourses.ie.
