Poist pholasaí
Renewable Heat
Ó An Roinn Comhshaoil, Aeráide agus Cumarsáide
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
Ó An Roinn Comhshaoil, Aeráide agus Cumarsáide
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive requires Ireland to meet 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. In order to achieve this objective, Ireland set a target of 12% renewable energy in the heat sector by 2030. In 2018, 6.5% of the energy used in the heat sector was renewable.
The Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH) has been developed to financially support the adoption of renewable heating systems by commercial, industrial, agricultural, district heating and other non-domestic heat users not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
The Scheme is made up of two support mechanisms – an installation grant for heat pumps and an operational support for biomass and anaerobic digestion (that is, biogas) heating systems. The primary objective of the Scheme is to contribute to meeting Ireland’s renewable energy targets while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Project Ireland 2040 sets out an allocation of €300 million for the rollout of the Scheme for the period up to 2027. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) operate the SSRH on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC)
District heating can play an important role in improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions. Given that end-users are supplied with heat rather than fuel, district heating networks can offer flexibility in fuel choice, and the ability to adapt to changes in the economic and policy landscape that may see different combinations of energy resources used at different times over the lifetime of a district heating network.
The recast 2018 Renewable Energy Directive defines the terms 'district heating' or 'district cooling' as the distribution of thermal energy in the form of steam, hot water or chilled liquids, from central or decentralised sources of production through a network to multiple buildings or sites, for the use of space or process heating or cooling.
District heating systems may vary in size, have different types and numbers of customers, and utilise a variety of supply sources. This diversity of systems gives rise to different barriers, opportunities, and levels of difficulty with regards to implementation. In Europe, the term district heating is generally only used for networks serving neighbourhoods, towns, or cities.
District heating currently accounts for a very small share of the Irish heating sector, estimated to be significantly less than 1%, representing one of the lowest shares of district heating in Europe. The Government recognises the contribution that district heating can make to Ireland’s energy and climate goals.
The National Comprehensive Assessment of the Potential for District Heating and Cooling, completed by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in August 2021, revealed greater potential for district heating throughout the country than previously considered. Analysis undertaken by SEAI as part of the recently completed National Heat Study suggests that district heating could provide as much as around 50% of building heating demand in Ireland.
The Climate Action Plan 2021 reaffirms the significant contribution district heating can make to increasing the level of renewable energy in the heat sector and reducing emissions, and includes a number of district heating related actions. Action 187 sets out the need to establish a system of governance for the development of district heating policy, and a District Heating Steering Group has been established to coordinate the development of district heating policy.
Government agreed to introduce an obligation on the heat sector to include renewable heat by 2024. The obligation will further increase the use of renewable heat, while spreading the obligation across all non-renewable fuel types. The cost impact could, therefore, be spread across all consumers of non-renewable fuels and the financial burden would not fall on any particular sub-sector or area.
Read more on the Renewable Heat Obligation