Pat Smith has joined the judging panel for the Business Energy Achievement Awards 2026. Managing Director of Local Power Ltd, he founded the company ten years ago with a clear commercial and environmental mandate, to help businesses across Ireland reduce their energy costs and carbon emissions. Since then, Local Power has delivered more than 50MW of rooftop solar installations for businesses nationwide, establishing itself as one of Ireland's active contributors to the decarbonisation of commercial and industrial energy consumption. The company also specialises in EV charging installations and battery storage solutions, giving it a broad and forward-looking portfolio across the clean energy transition.

That hands-on experience of designing, financing, and delivering renewable energy projects at scale gives Smith a precise and commercially informed perspective when assessing the energy achievements of competing organisations. He understands the practical, financial, and logistical complexity behind meaningful energy performance improvement, and brings that understanding directly to his judging role.

His career before Local Power was equally distinguished. A graduate of University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, Smith spent the majority of his career serving the Irish farming community across a range of senior roles. He served as General Secretary and CEO of the Irish Farmers Association from 2009 to 2015, one of Ireland's most influential representative bodies, leading the organisation through a period of significant agricultural and economic change. That role demanded high-level stakeholder engagement, policy advocacy, and strategic organisational leadership at national scale.

His entrepreneurial track record is also substantial. Smith has founded and developed a number of successful farmer-owned businesses, including IFA Telecom and Agriaware, and has served on the boards of IFAC, FBD, the Farmers Journal, and Drummonds, accumulating wide governance experience across financial services, media, and agri-business.

That breadth of leadership experience, combined with his direct involvement in Ireland's renewable energy sector, makes Smith a well-rounded and authoritative addition to the judging panel.

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