Mayo's Decarbonising Zone

Mayo’s Decarbonising Zone

On May 10th the coastal village of Mulranny was formally announced by Mayo County Council as Mayo’s Initial Decarbonising Zone, aiming to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 51% by 2030 as required under Action 165 of the National Climate Action Plan.

Selected as a resilient, vibrant, and sustainable community on a pathway to zero carbon emissions, Mulranny will now become an exemplar site for the rest of the county, leading the way for other Mayo communities seeking to decarbonise.

Mulranny was one of 10 Mayo communities to apply to be Mayo’s initial Decarbonising Zone. The initiative attracted huge engagement around the county, to the extent that within the tight application time frame DZ committees have been established to decarbonise 30% of Mayo’s population.

The application form focused on previous community experience, the community vision for 2030 and their DZ structure. Mulranny’s vision for 2030 is to become an empowered community, with a low carbon economy, living in a thriving biosphere. Using a participative democracy network, Mulranny’s ambition includes community energy initiatives, regenerative agricultural actions and the promotion of the circular economy in the village and its wider community.

The grass-roots approach undertaken demonstrates the phenomenal level of interest in sustainability and climate management actions in urban and rural communities across Mayo. 150 people now sit on DZ committees in Mayo and letters of support have been received from all sectors of society including business, community groups, schools, elected representatives, farming organisations, church, national organisations.

This commitment and enthusiasm have resulted in Mayo County Council committing further resources to drive on with decarbonising in Mayo. A full-time staff resource together with a cash allocation for matched funding will be made available to the communities that have demonstrated their willingness to decarbonise.

Mulranny Tourism Office

75% Carbon footprint reduction in 1 year
Food Drop Box to reduce food waste.
Recycling of paper, cardboard, plastic containers, tetra pak, light bulbs, and batteries.
No chemical cleaners used.
Aerators on taps to reduce water usage / water hippo in cistern.
Rainwater harvester to the rear of the premises for Tidy Towns to water nearby planters.
Insect hotel.
Mayo’s First Water Refill Station – free refills to reduce the use of single use plastic bottle
Community E-Bike Share Scheme – a Smarter Travel Initiative
Powered by Solar PV Renewable Energy.
Free E-Bike charging with renewable energy

Mulranny Sustainable Energy Community (SEC)

As an SEC Mulranny has completed their Energy Master Plan and opportunities log. 23 BERs have been carried out on local family homes. There were also full energy audits completed on the Mulranny Park Hotel, The Amenity Centre, Mulranny National School & St. Brendan’s High Support Unit.

As part of the Better Energy Communities Upgrades intiative Mulranny Tourist Office attic was insulated, all lighting in Mulranny National School was changed to energy effcient LEDs and a building fabric upgrade was carried out at the Old Irish Goat Visitor Centre.

Additionally, street lighting along the N59 has been changed to Dark Sky Friendly Energy Efficient LEDs.