Consultation on the Introduction of a Renewable Heat Obligation

Ireland currently has 6.3% of its heat sector demand met by renewable energy like biomass and biogas, which is the lowest percentage of any country in Europe and well below the European Union average of 22%.

While some progress is being made in terms of increasing renewable heat in Ireland, more will need to be done. The Climate Action Plan sets ambitious targets for heat pumps to heat our homes and businesses, and a renewable source of liquid and gaseous fuels will need to be established in Ireland for heating purposes, especially to decarbonise high temperature heat where electricity may not provide a practical solution.

An obligation in the heat sector will incentivise the use of renewable heat while spreading the obligation across all non-renewable fuel types. This spreads the cost impact over all consumers of non-renewable fuels and so does not place the financial burden on one particular sub-sector or area.

The purpose of this consultation is to seek views from interested parties on the potential introduction of a new Renewable Heat Obligation. This obligation, if introduced, would require the suppliers of energy used in the heat sector in Ireland to ensure a certain proportion of the energy supplied is renewable. This consultation will inform the decision on whether, and how, such an obligation should be implemented in Ireland in the coming years.

The closing date for submissions has been extended to 5.00pm Friday 29 October 2021

Submissions should be sent by email to RenewableHeat@decc.gov.ie or by post to:

Renewable Heat Obligation Consultation

Business Energy Gas Policy Division

Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications

29-31 Adelaide Road

Dublin 2

D02 X285

We held a virtual information session on Tuesday 5 October 2021. This webinar was to ensure participants are informed when submitting a response to the current consultation, to encourage and assist the submissions process and to answer any queries. Presentations from the session can be found below.

We are committed to engaging with stakeholders in a clear, open and transparent manner. Any person or organisation can make a submission in relation to this consultation. All submissions and feedback will be considered before the decision on introducing an obligation is made.

Please note that responses to this consultation are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI), Access to Information on the Environment Regulations 2007-2018 (AIE) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Please also note that we intend to publish the contents of all submissions received to this consultation on our website. We will redact personal data prior to publication. In responding to this consultation, parties should clearly indicate where their responses contain personal information, commercially sensitive information or confidential information which they would not wish to be released under FOI, AIE or otherwise published.

We would like to draw your attention to our Data Privacy Notice which is available on our website and explains how and when we collect personal data, why we do so and how we treat this information. It also explains your rights in relation to the collection of personal information and how you can exercise those rights.

Industry Submissions

Group/Organisation Submissions

Individual Submissions