NI Water has opened registration to its virtual Power of Water event, launching the ‘Power of Water’ report, on Wednesday 3rd November, 2021.

Designed to coincide with COP26, the Power of Water event, which is supported by EY Northern Ireland, will set out not just what NI Water believes is achievable, but how, through public and private organisations working in partnership and collaborating, Northern Ireland could become a world leader in the way it produces and uses energy in the low carbon era.

Sara Venning, CEO NI Water, explained:

“Individual organisations cannot work in isolation. Just as climate change does not respect national or institutional boundaries, neither should the response. We all have to innovate, collaborate and show the urgency needed to address the defining issue of our time.

“The ‘Power of Water’ report, which will be released on the day, will describe how we have developed new ways of thinking about how NI Water uses energy, and how we can harness our natural assets to generate and store power so adding extra resilience to Northern Ireland’s energy system - a crucial factor as we move away from our dependence on fossil fuel plants for security of supply.

“With the support of DfI and a number of other partners, NI Water has learnt a lot during the last few years about how we can respond to climate change. But our greatest potential, perhaps, is in using our assets as a catalyst for change across Northern Ireland’s energy and transport networks as a whole.”

NI Water is one of the largest electricity users in Northern Ireland.

To kick start the discussion, the company is planning to share some examples of the innovative work it has done internally, harnessing its assets to demonstrate how Northern Ireland could transition from a high carbon, high energy cost economy to one which is low carbon, affordable energy and can act as the springboard for the highly skilled circular economy of the future.

This will include discussion on the production of Green Hydrogen at a local wastewater treatment works – the first of its type in the UK.

Ms Venning concluded:

“However, change will only happen if we all work together. The “Power of Water” report is a prompt, but it is only a prompt. What happens next is what really matters. Let the conversation begin.”

Michael Hall, Managing Partner, EY Northern Ireland added:

“Now more than ever, sustainability is front of mind for businesses, consumers and governments the world over, as we all seek to reduce carbon emissions and change the way we think and behave when it comes to consuming products and services. The only way for us to tackle the climate emergency we are in is to look ahead to the future and develop innovative and creative solutions to the challenges we’re facing and to meet our evolving energy needs, which is what the ‘Power of Water’ report aims to do.

“At EY, we’re committed to reaching carbon negativity by the end of 2021, and to supporting businesses across the UK and Ireland on their own journeys towards reducing their climate impact, so we’re delighted to support this important initiative and work towards building a better working world.”

The Power of Water event is a free virtual event open to individuals and organisations with an interest in tackling the climate emergency. The 90 minute event will include key note speeches from public, private and climate experts and a panel discussion made up of industry leaders.

Click here to register for the event

Click here to download the report