With just two days left until Ireland's leading District Energy event is due to take place we are issuing a final call for anyone that would like to register. 

Click here for full programme.

Join us for an enlightening and engaging event where professionals, experts, and enthusiasts gather to explore the latest advancements, trends and opportunities in the district heating sector in Ireland and abroad.

• Date: Thursday, 26th October 2023
• Time: 08:30am - 4:30pm
• Location & Format: Camden Court Hotel, Dublin City Centre. Fully in-person event.

The IrDEA Annual Conference 2023 is a must-attend event for anyone interested in district heating and its vital role in transforming Ireland's heating sector to low-carbon. This year's conference will bring together industry leaders, policymakers, researchers, energy sector representatives, and public bodies - among others - to share insights, foster collaborations, and drive innovation within the Irish district heating landscape.

Click here to book your ticket now.

Key Highlights:

• Keynote Address from the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD.
• Thought-Provoking Presentations: Gain valuable insights from renowned experts in district heating who will address the current challenges, trends, and opportunities shaping the industry.
• Engaging Panel Discussions: Participate in lively panel discussions featuring industry pioneers, researchers, and policymakers, where they will discuss the latest advancements, policy frameworks, and best practices in the field of district heating.
• Technical Aspects and Case Studies: Delve into the technical aspects of district heating and learn about cutting-edge technologies, innovative solutions, and successful case studies from across Ireland and beyond.
• Networking Opportunities: Connect with a diverse group of professionals, including district heating practitioners, government bodies, local authority staff and other public bodies, energy sector representatives, and researchers, to expand your professional network and explore potential collaborations.

Speakers

We have a great range of speakers confirmed, which include:

• Keynote Adddres:Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for the Environment, Climate & Communications
• Barry Quinlan, Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications
• Margie McCarthy, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
• Y vonne Murphy, Irish District Energy Association
• John O'Shea, Codema - Dublin's Energy Agency
• G eorge Robinson, Dept of Energy Security and Net Zero, UK
• A my Radlberger, Wien Energie
• R ita Gnehm, Planar
• Saška Rihtaršič, Danfoss
• K ristina Lygnerud, IVL Sweden
• Brian Keville, MKO
• J ames Enright, Commission for the Regulation of Utilities

V iew all the speakers.

Who Should Attend:

The IrDEA Annual Conference 2023 is designed for professionals and organisations involved or interested in district heating, including but not limited to:

• Energy providers and utilities
• Government representatives and policymakers
• L ocal authority staff and other public bodies
• Engineers, architects, and urban planners
• Energy consultants and researchers
• Technology providers and equipment manufacturers
• Sustainable development organisations
• Financial institutions and investors
• Students and academia

Join us at the Irish District Energy Association Annual Conference 2023 and be part of the transformative conversations, knowledge exchange, and collaborative initiatives that will shape the future of the low-carbon heating sector Ireland towards 2030 and beyond.

Tickets are now on sale and last year's conference was sold out, so be sure to secure your spot today!

Please note that photographs will be taken during the conference and some photos may be published publicly on social media, websites, etc.

Sponsors

Public Consultation Response

Press Release, Irish District Energy Association, 10/10/2023

The Irish District Energy Association today welcomed the creation of a new Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund as part of Budget 2024.

While detail is yet to emerge on exactly how the fund will operate and the types of projects it will support, the cumulative scale of the €14bn fund and its focus is ‘cause for optimism’, according to the sectoral interest group. Speaking on behalf of IrDEA, CEO Yvonne Murphy stated,

We have been advocating for a significant boost in the level and kind of funding available from the State to support capital projects of the scale needed to tackle decarbonisation in the heating sector. Naturally, we await further detail on how this fund will operate, but our initial impression of this announcement is a very positive one.

The organisation highlighted that the time for minor interventions has passed for Ireland as the country is currently on track to achieve less than 10% of the Climate Action Plan target of 2700 GWh for 2030. Murphy warned,

We cannot afford to wait, which is why it was so important that Budget 2024 was seen to deliver the resources needed to kick-start district energy in Ireland. There are additional areas of spending that we still wish to see addressed and it seems this fund is unlikely to deliver all the funding we believe the sector needs. But today's budget acknowledged the need to invest in the capital projects to achieve our decarbonisation commitments. That must be welcomed.

The district energy sector is poised to invest up to €2bn between now and 2030 to serve heat demand equivalent to 200,000 homes. We currently boast less than 20 GWh of district energy in Ireland.

Ms Murphy concluded by stating,

Strong market signals are needed on the part of government to demonstrate that the State is behind the sector and is committed to district energy into the long term. This will help to build confidence within the sector, which will help to trigger investment. This fund has the potential to help with that if it is correctly focused and can be accessed to support district energy projects. We await further detail with great hope that this is the case.

View or download IrDEA's Pre-Budget Submission 

Summary of IRDEA Budget 2024 proposals

(VIEW OR DOWNLOAD FULL PRE-BUDGET SUBMISSION)

IrDEA’s total ask for Budget 2024 was €389.5m per year, which would be used to provide for district energy under three headings,

• Resource public sector bodies tasked with facilitating delivery of district energy (€6.35m)

This is chiefly to increase staffing in Local Authorities, SEAI, CRU, and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to ensure capacity exists to drive district energy forward.

• Match private sector capital infrastructure investment (€333m)

District energy infrastructure is a long-term investment, with piping lasting over 50 years before replacement. Allowing for private sector innovation and agility is important to get projects off the ground, but State support for infrastructure is also important given the public good it serves by keeping end use energy prices affordable and creating certainty in the market.

• Protect early adopter consumers with a new Heat Cost Protection Scheme (€50m).
• 1. Modern district energy schemes rely on largescale heat pumps to raise the temperature of waste heat to the threshold needed to supply heat to consumers. This requires electricity.
  2. As electricity prices are set by the most expensive oil or gas unit available in the wholesale market, it is difficult for electricity-based heat to compete with gas, which is generally more affordable.
  3. Good news is, district energy is more efficient, so less power is used, which keeps prices down.
  4. To keep electricity prices less than double those of gas, IrDEA suggests that government put in place a sinking fund of €50m per year to be put aside in the event of an electricity price spike.
  5. This money would only be deployed in a rare and extreme situation, so it would simply need to be available in the event of such a circumstance.
  6. This money would be used to create a price control buffer for customers to shield them from the worst excess of an electricity price spike should it arise. It is not a blank cheque and would be limited to this amount.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Notes to the Editor

Why we need to decarbonise heat.

Heat accounted for 41.8% of final energy demand in 2021, this compares to transport at 36.1% and electricity 22.1% (SEAI, 2022). In 2022, only 5.2% of heat produced in Ireland came from renewable sources, this is the lowest renewable heat share in Europe (Eurostat, 2023a, 2023b). Although Ireland has made great strides in developing renewable electricity, we have outright failed to make progress on renewable heat.

The plan to decarbonise heat.

The Climate Action Plan 2023 sets out that government intends to move us to a heat system run on a combination of heat pumps and district energy(Government of Ireland, 2022). In simple terms, this would mean using heat pumps in areas of low building and heat demand density, and district energy in areas of medium to high heat demand density, such as villages, towns, and cities. This would help to maximise efficiency and affordability in the heat sector, as where the heat demand exists, district energy is a more affordable option than heat pumps, but heat pumps are agile enough to cater to the needs of customers in, for example, one off houses.

District energy in brief.

District energy is well proven as an affordable, local source of decarbonised heat. One of its key benefits is that it can run off any energy source that can heat water; this means it can run off a range of renewable and waste heat sources, and often systems incorporate several heat sources to ensure adaptability and optimised cost effectiveness.

Insulated tanks or pits filled with water that range in size from domestic hot water tanks to large pits occupying surface areas equivalent to or bigger than football fields are used as energy storage in district energy systems. The water in the storage system is heated when energy is abundant or cheap, allowing for greater savings and efficiency to be delivered to consumers. At the longest duration, solar arrays are used in some sites to capture heat in summer for use in the winter as a source of heat for buildings.

Sources Cited

Eurostat. (2023a). Heating and cooling from renewables gradually increasing. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/DDN-20230203-1#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20the%20share,value%20in%202004%20(11.7%25).

Eurostat. (2023b). Renewable energy statistics. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Renewable_energy_statistics

Government of Ireland. (2022). Climate Action Plan 2023. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/7bd8c-climate-action-plan-2023/

SEAI. (2022). National Heat Study: District Heating and Cooling. https://www.seai.ie/publications/District-Heating-and-Cooling.pdf

Summary of IRDEA Budget 2024 proposals

(VIEW OR DOWNLOAD FULL PRE-BUDGET SUBMISSION)

IrDEA’s total ask for Budget 2024 was €389.5m per year, which would be used to provide for district energy under three headings,

• Resource public sector bodies tasked with facilitating delivery of district energy (€6.35m)

This is chiefly to increase staffing in Local Authorities, SEAI, CRU, and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to ensure capacity exists to drive district energy forward.

• Match private sector capital infrastructure investment (€333m)

District energy infrastructure is a long-term investment, with piping lasting over 50 years before replacement. Allowing for private sector innovation and agility is important to get projects off the ground, but State support for infrastructure is also important given the public good it serves by keeping end use energy prices affordable and creating certainty in the market.

• Protect early adopter consumers with a new Heat Cost Protection Scheme (€50m).
• 1. Modern district energy schemes rely on largescale heat pumps to raise the temperature of waste heat to the threshold needed to supply heat to consumers. This requires electricity.
  2. As electricity prices are set by the most expensive oil or gas unit available in the wholesale market, it is difficult for electricity-based heat to compete with gas, which is generally more affordable.
  3. Good news is, district energy is more efficient, so less power is used, which keeps prices down.
  4. To keep electricity prices less than double those of gas, IrDEA suggests that government put in place a sinking fund of €50m per year to be put aside in the event of an electricity price spike.
  5. This money would only be deployed in a rare and extreme situation, so it would simply need to be available in the event of such a circumstance.
  6. This money would be used to create a price control buffer for customers to shield them from the worst excess of an electricity price spike should it arise. It is not a blank cheque and would be limited to this amount.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Notes

Why we need to decarbonise heat.

Heat accounted for 41.8% of final energy demand in 2021, this compares to transport at 36.1% and electricity 22.1% (SEAI, 2022). In 2022, only 5.2% of heat produced in Ireland came from renewable sources, this is the lowest renewable heat share in Europe (Eurostat, 2023a, 2023b). Although Ireland has made great strides in developing renewable electricity, we have outright failed to make progress on renewable heat.

The plan to decarbonise heat.

The Climate Action Plan 2023 sets out that government intends to move us to a heat system run on a combination of heat pumps and district energy(Government of Ireland, 2022). In simple terms, this would mean using heat pumps in areas of low building and heat demand density, and district energy in areas of medium to high heat demand density, such as villages, towns, and cities. This would help to maximise efficiency and affordability in the heat sector, as where the heat demand exists, district energy is a more affordable option than heat pumps, but heat pumps are agile enough to cater to the needs of customers in, for example, one off houses.

District energy in brief.

District energy is well proven as an affordable, local source of decarbonised heat. One of its key benefits is that it can run off any energy source that can heat water; this means it can run off a range of renewable and waste heat sources, and often systems incorporate several heat sources to ensure adaptability and optimised cost effectiveness.

Insulated tanks or pits filled with water that range in size from domestic hot water tanks to large pits occupying surface areas equivalent to or bigger than football fields are used as energy storage in district energy systems. The water in the storage system is heated when energy is abundant or cheap, allowing for greater savings and efficiency to be delivered to consumers. At the longest duration, solar arrays are used in some sites to capture heat in summer for use in the winter as a source of heat for buildings.

Sources Cited

Eurostat. (2023a). Heating and cooling from renewables gradually increasing. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/DDN-20230203-1#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20the%20share,value%20in%202004%20(11.7%25).

Eurostat. (2023b). Renewable energy statistics. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Renewable_energy_statistics

Government of Ireland. (2022). Climate Action Plan 2023. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/7bd8c-climate-action-plan-2023/

SEAI. (2022). National Heat Study: District Heating and Cooling. https://www.seai.ie/publications/District-Heating-and-Cooling.pdf

The Irish District Energy Association (IrDEA) today voiced concern over the latest Gas Network Price Control review (GNI PC5).

The comments came in relation to the recent public consultation held as part of the review and the sectoral group’s submission to that process. (Full submission available here).

Assumption of growing demand for gas

The group drew particular attention to the lack of consistency with national and international policy, which is set on a move away from fossil fuel dependency and towards renewables. Highlighting that the nuts and bolts of policy delivery must align with that overall goal, IrDEA called for mechanisms like the GNI price control to be used as tools to drive that change.

Speaking on the matter, an IrDEA Spokesperson stated,

We are very concerned that the business-as-usual approach adopted in the PC5 fails to incentivise change on the part of Gas Networks Ireland when it comes to continued gas grid expansion. This must be addressed as a matter of urgency to really get moving on building a pathway to renewable sources of flexible electricity generation, and renewable heat generation and distribution.

__________________________________________

IrDEA expressed further concern at the assumption that the demand and need for gas will continue to grow in line with projections made by Gas Networks Ireland (GNI). Government and industry are pushing to achieve 80% renewable electricity by the end of the decade, which will greatly reduce the market share GNI can compete for in terms of electricity generation and that needs to be factored into all scenarios.

On this, the organisation said,

There is a clear policy commitment to pivot to district energy and heat pumps for heating by 2050. If we are serious about achieving that, we must start now. The PC5 is an important mechanism that could help with this, but unfortunately it misses the mark in its current form. We urge that it be revised now to avoid prolonging our dependency on gas and help deliver decarbonised heating as soon as possible.

__________________________________________

IrDEA went on to say,

The idea that the PC5 continues to promote the expansion of the gas network through the connection incentive is truly astonishing at a time when we need to plan for the eventual decommissioning of the gas grid. It is true that gas will continue to provide back-up for our electricity and heating systems until alternatives can be put in place, but to continue expanding beyond this is incredibly problematic. No slow-down in gas grid expansion appears to be envisioned in the PC5, which is very worrying from a decarbonisation and energy transition standpoint.

The sectoral group concluded in highlighting the importance of investing in decarbonised solutions to heating and electricity as soon as possible to ensure Ireland has a robust, secure, and safe supply of energy that serves the people of Ireland in every way needed, including in environmental terms.

• View the details of the GNI PC5 Process here
• View or download the IrDEA Submission on the GNI PC5 Consultation here

Today, government published the much anticipated District Heating Steering Group Report 2023, which makes 11 recommendations on how government should support the growth and development of the district energy sector in Ireland.

Commenting in response to the launch of the Report, Yvonne Murphy, CEO of the Irish District Energy said,

The District Heating Steering Group Report is a key moment for the district energy sector in Ireland. Its recommendations on financing, consumer inducement and protections, regulation, and planning and consenting, among other elements, send a clear signal to the market that Ireland is committed to district energy as a key driver of decarbonised heat. This is hugely welcome.

The National Heat Study produced by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in 2022 demonstrates the potential for up to 54% of heat in buildings to be supplied by district heating. A proven technology in widespread use across many European countries since the 1970s, district heating is a key component Ireland's plans to decarbonise the built environment, diversify fuel sources for heat, and improve quality of life.

Countries like Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Denmark have both the highest levels of renewable heat and district energy in Europe. Each with a renewable heat share of over 40%. Ireland, on the other hand, ranks bottom in Europe with only 5.3% of heat coming from renewable sources (SEAI 2022).

• If we meet targets set by government, approx. 200,000 homes and 2500 public/commercial buildings will be supplied with low-cost, low-carbon heat by 2030.
• The total investment of €2.5 billion will be needed for this (€1 billion in public piping and €1.5 billion in homes/supply).
• This investment, together with the operation, maintenance, and heat supply to district heating networks would lead to the creation of over 2,000 full-time jobs over the next decade.

About the District Heating Steering Group

The District Heating Steering Group was chaired by Barry Quinlan, Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with responsibility for Energy, and was made up of representatives from,

• Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC)
• Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH)
• Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)
• Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU)
• National Development Finance Agency
• Dublin City Council
• South Dublin County Council
• Limerick City and County Council
• City of Dublin Energy Management Agency (CoDEMA)

IrDEA has produced a summary of the key recommendations made in the Report, which is available for download below.

District Heating Steering Group Report 2023 - IrDEA Summary of Key Recommendations.pdf

Recommendations of the Report

1. Establish a National District Heating Centre of Excellence within SEAI.
2. Local authorities to continue developing existing projects. 
3. The District Heating Centre of Excellence should undertake detailed economic analysis to assess the feasibility of a list of measures.
4. DECC should bring forward specific legislation for the sector.
5. DECC and SEAI should review supports for renewable heat production.
6. DECC and the District Heating Centre of Excellence should engage with InvestEU Advisory Hub to explore financing options.
7. That DHLGH should strengthen the reference to district energy in key planning and development strategies.
8. The District Heating Centre of Excellence, with DECC, should develop a Long-Term Strategy for district energy.
9. That a national level assessment of the most suitable Candidate Areas for district energy in Ireland be completed by SEAI.
10. Establish a funded grant programme for Feasibility Studies to allow further investigation into potential schemes.
11. SEAI should undertake research in relation to awareness, current views, experience of current users, preferences and levels of uptake expected.

IrDEA today made a submission in response to the Public consultation on Ireland’s current Long-term Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions carried out by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

In its submission, IrDEA urged the Department to refine certain aspects of the Strategy, 'to better reflect the future role of district energy in achieving our 2050 net zero emissions targets'.

The current long-term strategy intersperses district energy as a source of heat decarbonisation alongside other options, particularly heat pumps. While IrDEA emphasised that is incredibly welcome to see district energy incorporated in this way, we are keen to ensure clarity and consistency in the strategy with respect to decarbonising heating and cooling. This is vital to support the scaling up of the district energy sector, which in turn is essential to achieving our long-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

To achieve this, IrDEA recommended the following changes to the strategy:

• Identify and amend or remove any indication that one heat decarbonisation technology be favoured over others as part of the Long-term Strategy. Or, state that district energy is the preferred option in high heat density areas, with heat pumps being preferred in low to medium heat density areas.

• Ensure that district energy is incorporated into the Long-term Strategy wherever the decarbonisation of heating and cooling is considered. This must be done to integrate the finding of the SEAI National Heat Study (2022) that approx. 50% of the current building stock is suitable for district energy. To do otherwise would weaken the Strategy and its function in setting out the broad pathway that must be followed to achieve our net zero emissions goals.

• Disaggregate the inherent linkage between retrofitting and heat pumps to ensure other heating and cooling options are incentivised where most appropriate as part of district level retrofitting initiatives. Provide for decarbonised heating and cooling through means other than electrification where retrofitting is spoken of to ensure that district energy is considered and incentivised for use where heat demand densities justify it as the preferred option.

IrDEA concluded in stating,

If we are to achieve net zero emissions, it is vital to use every available technology and resource at our disposal. The science is clear that reducing emissions quickly will have the most positive impact on managing and mitigating the excesses of human induced climate change. As the heating sector lags so far behind in Ireland’s efforts to decarbonise, we must put particular focus on finding deliverable solutions that can be rolled out as quickly as possible. This must include placing district energy on a par with solutions like heat pumps given its capacity to deliver decarbonised heat to up to 50% of Ireland’s current building stock in addition to future constructions in areas with suitable levels of heat demand.

Download the full submission here:

IrDEASubmission_Ireland’s current Long-term Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions_07Jul2023.pdf

Today IrDEA's Yvonne Murphy (CEO) and Dr David Connolly (Chairperson) appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action alongside Professor Professor Brian Vad Mathiesen from Aalborg University, Copenhagen.

Discussing the decarbonisation of Ireland's heat sector as part of the Committee's ongoing examination of the topic, IrDEA spoke to the benefits and opportunities offered by district energy, which include significant prospects for scalability and rapid rollout.

As part of this, Dr Connolly and Ms Murphy set out a number of key policy barriers to be addressed, such as,

• The current lack of a regulatory framework to allow for heat networks to be developed along public roadways in a similar fashion to electricity, water, and communications infrastructure.
• The need for significant capital support to kick start the industry, specifically a similar level of support to the 40% of CAPEX being rolled out in the UK. 
• Strategic planning to ensure the efficient deployment of DH alongside other decarbonisation technologies such as heat pumps so the critical mass needed is retained.
• Equalisation of grant support with other decarbonisation technologies to provide a level playing field for DH.
• Promotion of DH as the preferred option for suitable public buildings to establish an anchor-load to make networks viable.

In response to questions from a number of Deputies on affordability and consumer protection, the IrDEA representatives emphasised the importance of regulatory and market safeguards to protect customers. 

Speaking after the Committee hearing, Connolly stated,

The opportunities for district heating in Ireland are there and it's great to see this level of engagement from stakeholders to find ways of tapping into that. It was great to get such considered questions from the Committee members, a really strong sign that district energy is moving up the agenda.

Ms Murphy concluded in stating,

We're grateful to the Committee for giving us the time to make the case for district energy today. I'd be very hopeful that this is the beginning of a constructive dialogue that will help us find policy and legislative solutions to address the few but crucial policy barriers faced by the industry at present.

Documents Furnished to the Committee

• IrDEA Opening Statement - OirCommitteeEnvClimateAction (2).pdf
• IrDEASubmission_CommitteeEnvandClimateAction_DecarbonisedHeat_June2023 (As Submitted) (2).pdf

 

IrDEA has today welcomed the appointment of CRU as regulator of Ireland's District Heating and Cooling sector. Given the key role district energy is set to play in decarbonising the Irish heating and cooling sector, this vital step forward is both timely and welcome.

Speaking in response to the announcement, IrDEA CEO Yvonne Murphy stated,

This is a very welcome move that we had hoped to see this year as a key signal to the market that district energy is being prioritised. The sector is incredibly keen to see regulation and standards being set down to give both protection and comfort to consumers, developers, and operators alike, and this is a positive sign of things to come.

Making the announcement on its website and making key stakeholders aware of the move, the CRU (Commission for the Regulation of Utilities) stated,

The CRU is now notifying stakeholders and, in particular, suppliers of District Heating and operators of District Heating networks of its intention to publish the specific registration requirements later in 2023.

The full text of the announcement can be viewed below or at https://www.cru.ie/publications/27529/.

_________________________________

District Heating

The CRU has been appointed as regulator of District Heating and Cooling networks by S.I. 350 of 2022, which transposes Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.

As part of its remit, the CRU will require all District Heating suppliers to register with the CRU and make certain information available to final consumers, pursuant to Regulation 33 of S.I. 350 of 2022.

The CRU is now notifying stakeholders and, in particular, suppliers of District Heating and operators of District Heating networks of its intention to publish the specific registration requirements later in 2023.

Also under S.I. 350 of 2022, the CRU must ensure that final consumers of district heating are provided with information on the energy performance and the share of renewable energy used in their district heating and cooling system. This may be made available on a final consumer’s bill or on the supplier’s website, and it must also be made available, upon request, from the supplier. The CRU will engage with District Heating suppliers on this in due course.

If you have any queries on this, please contact the CRU’s District Heating team at districtheating@cru.ie

The Irish District Energy Association today confirmed its application to join the Board of Euroheat & Power (EHP) approved. Euroheat & Power (EHP) is the international network for district energy, promoting sustainable heating and cooling in Europe and beyond.

Ireland’s stated ambitions, as set out in the Climate Action Plan 2023, to deliver 0.8TWhrs of District Heating by 2025 and 2.7TWhrs by 2030 demand that we take a more active role in EU policy making. By joining Euroheat & Power, IrDEA will take up a key Board position and positions on EHP’s committees. This will ensure the needs of the Irish district energy sector are advocated for at EU level and that the wealth of expertise, experience, and connections available through EHP membership can be leveraged as the sector grows to meet Ireland’s ambitious decarbonisation targets.

Commenting on the news, IrDEA CEO Yvonne Murphy stated,

This is another in a series of leaps forward for IrDEA as an organisation. We’re excited to get started in developing and growing IrDEA’s network of connections across Europe to lean on the extraordinary level of expertise across the continent. The great benefit of Ireland being late to the party on district energy is that we can avail of the abundance of help and guidance out there to ensure our sector develops according to the very best standards out there today.

In joining the Board of Euroheat & Power, IrDEA will have a voice in Europe's leading district energy association. This is vital to ensuring Irish interests are advocated for across decision-making bodies at european level.

EHP is a non-for-profit association headquartered in Brussels that unites the district energy sector. Members come from over thirty countries around the globe and include national district heating and cooling associations, utilities operating district energy systems, industrial associations and companies, manufacturers, universities, research institutes and consultancies active in the sector.

Ends

For queries, please contact:

Yvonne Murphy, CEO, IrDEA | 089 494 6654 | yvonne@districtenergy.ie

IrDEA Joins EHP April 2023.pdf

About IrDEA

The Irish District Energy Association (IrDEA) is the trade organisation representing the district heating and cooling (DHC) sector in Ireland. We act on behalf of our members to support and promote the growth of the DHC industry, creating a new heating market for Ireland which offers greater opportunities to use indigenous low-carbon and renewable sources of heat.