Renewable Energy Biz Camp in Kilkenny

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The Making of Jobs

in Renewable Energy

Kilkenny Biz Camp Friday 27th May

I had a letter a couple of days ago from Kieth Bohanna, who runs an Internet consultancy business, announcing a “Renewable-Energy Biz Camp” in Kilkenny.


Hi Tony

Firstly I like your blogging - that is some amount of work and I hope you continue to enjoy it! I have a personal food blog and your output puts me to shame.

I am helping to run the above event in Kilkenny - it is a free one day gathering to explore the business opportunities in the renewable energy sector in Ireland. It is being run by two not-for-profits (Carlow Kilkenny Energy Agency and the Kilkenny Leader Partnership) and one of the great things about it is that there will be around 20 speakers on the day (3 concurrent streams at any one time) and the speakers self-nominate themselves!

So once they are on topic, and provided they are not doing a sales pitch, anyone who wants to share a passion, information, opinion or experience can do so. If you could do a blog post that would be great. And if you want to attend and/or speak even better :-)

More here: www.energycamp.ie  Any questions just ask and thanks for taking the time to read this,

rgds, Keith

Comment:

Evidently the idea behind Biz Camps is a promotional tool to stimulate business and jobs. Several such camps have been held around Ireland. This is the first one dealing with Sustainable Energy matters.

The “Renewable Energy Biz Camp” will be held in the "Hotel Kilkenny" that would be In Kilkenny on Friday 27th May 2011. Subtitled: “Job Creation & Opportunities in Green Energy”.  The event is free of charge to those attending and also to speakers at the forums.

As far as I can determine, the core goal of the event is to create jobs and business opportunities, and is thus oriented towards business people - not so much for Joe Public. It is for interested parties to “explore the business opportunities in this sector and participate in a panel discussion” - “The EnergyCamp is an opportunity for individuals / companies wishing to branch into the energy and learn form experienced entrepreneurs”. Apart from the main two sponsors, I presume it will be funded by business stalls etc.

My only worry is about the ethical side of Sustainable Energy Business generally. By that I mean  business ethics, which would include such basics as, honesty, truthfulness, excellence of service, safety and training, real value for money, technical service capability and spare parts availability, honest running cost comparisons etc. etc.

I have written many a time on this blog about the price gouging, the cowboy attitudes, the poor technical standards etc. etc. of many in the Irish Renewable Energy Sector. I am hopeful, with the recent events of the property bubble collapse and the subsequent Bank crisis, that there will emerge a greater appreciation for the absolute need for honesty, truthfulness, fairness, trustworthiness, and openness in Irish business.


My reply to Kieth's letter:

Hi Keith  -

I would be happy to give your event a plug - I will see what material I can get from your website and if I need something more I will come back to you.

The business side of renewable energy in Ireland has been nothing short of a minefield - with all sorts of cowboys and opportunists gouging the public.

I hope the historical mistakes of unleashing the hounds on an unsuspecting public is outlined and that the ethical side of things is robustly addressed at your conference

I am just back from a Baha’i Convention in Bray - so it will be tomorrow or Wednesday before I get a look and start a post.

Regards,

Tony

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