Cowhig or OCobhthaigh; we posted this before, however its worth repeating for our newer followers. How the bold Tim was able to milk the system as far back as 2004; from The Phoenix in 2006. Tim is head buck cat in Element Power, that fine upstanding organisation. Bandon Boyos Get The Business GOLDHAWK is ever more impressed by that outfit in Bandon Co. Cork known as South Western Services (SWS) where Kieran Calnan rules the roost. SWS is owned by a group of Co-ops principally Dairygold, but senior management including Calnan and Tim Cowhig have a private deal worth €16m to them in case of a sell-off of SWS. SWS is into alternative energy, mainly wind, waste management and what is called Business Process Outsourcing, (See The Phoenix 14/03/03). Under the latter the Bandon Boys have managed to land contracts to administer various government schemes like the National Animal Registration Scheme, the Cattle Monitoring Scheme and Penalty Points Scheme. SWS also administers the Renewable Energy Information Office (REIO) for one of Noel Dempsey’s departmental responsibilities called Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), which hands out the Government Grants in this area, and happily many of them fell into the lap of SWS. For Instance, both Calnan and Cowhig are directors of Independent Biomass Systems, a joint venture between SWS and Grainger Sawmills to construct and operate Ireland’s first wood-fired combined heat and power plant. Biomass got a grant of €732,000 in 2003 and a further €500,000 in 2004 from SEI and, in both years these were the single largest individual grant payments made by SEI. Well-done Bandon. At least they have good in-house information about what is coming down the line. The REIO office is not just sited in the SWS in Bandon but has been managed for SWS by a certain Paul Kellett who was employed by SWS. Kellett is also a director of a Wind Turbine Component Company called Gaoth Tec, which has also been blessed with grants from SEI to the tune of €373,500 in 2003 and €191,239 in 2004. Interestingly, this company was formed only on 24th November 2003 and yet managed to secure a grant of €373,500 before year end! Information is so important. But what is even more interesting is that the “owner” of the Business Name-Individual “Renewable Energy Information office” as registered in the Companies Registration Office documentation on 12/07/04, is none other than Paul Kellett of Carigadrohid, Co. Cork. In 2004, Noel Dempsey awarded new contracts to various companies to generate an additional 235MW’s of electricity. The largest single contract 47.5MW went to Green Energy Co Ltd, a business registered at the SWS HQ in Bandon. The SWS group’s South Western Forestry Services was awarded a contract for 9.35MW and a contract of 4.25MW was awarded to another SWS company called Mukdar ltd. But perhaps the most intriguing contract of all was for 4.25MW went to a previously unknown individual in the energy business with the usual name of Tadhg OCobhthaigh who is to generate electricity from the Mukdar site. Only the real cognoscenti in the Bandon brigade recognised the bold Tadhg to be none other than Tim Cowhig CEO of SWS Energy Division. The Phoenix July 28th 2006
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 21:45:46 +0000
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