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Irish District Energy Association

Supporting and Promoting District Heating and Cooling in Ireland


Latest Policy papers



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

IrDEA welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the consultation on Ireland’s current Long-term Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions. With district energy primed to play a leading role in the decarbonisation of heating and cooling in Ireland, the sector is keen to see its potential reflected fully in the Long-term Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions.

While IrDEA welcomes the addition of the most recent Climate Action Plan 2023 targets to the Strategy, there are several elements in need of refinement to better reflect the future role of district energy in achieving our 2050 net zero emissions targets. This submission sets out those changes in broad terms. Should further information or elaboration be needed on these points, IrDEA would be most happy to provide them, but in the meantime, we wish the team well in producing the finalised Long-term Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions... (read on)




IrDEA Electricity Storage Policy Framework Consultation Submission Jan 2023 - Final (1).pdf

At approx. 60 TWh per annum, heat makes up 42% of final energy demand in a typical year for Ireland (SEAI 2019). Decarbonisation in the sector has, however, lagged behind electricity, with total fossil fuel based CO2 emissions from building and industrial process heating remaining around 14.1 MtCO2. This equates to approx. 38% of total energy-related CO2 and 24% of total national greenhouse gas emissions – natural gas (39%), oil (36%), and coal and peat (25%) (SEAI 2019). Significant action must be taken to address this if Ireland’s net zero emissions ambitions are to be realised.

The Irish District Energy Association (IrDEA) aims to help address this problem by driving the development of the Irish district energy sector. Though relatively new and underdeveloped in Ireland, district heating is well-established as means of providing sustainable heating solutions to industrial, commercial and residential energy consumers. With between 54% (SEAI) and 58% (Europa-Universitat Flensburg 2019) of Irish building identified as being suitable for district energy, this form of heating is primed to lead the decarbonisation of the sector. Energy storage, particularly largescale thermal energy storage systems (TES), is an integral part of this.

IrDEA offers the following comments in response to the call for submissions on developing an Electricity Storage Policy Framework for Ireland. We have focused specifically on energy storage as it relates district energy sector, in particular thermal energy storage systems (TES). As a general comment, however, we would strongly encourage the expansion of the policy framework beyond electricity storage to facilitate a whole system approach with respect to energy storage... (read on)



Tipperary County Development 2022 2028 Consultation 2022.pdf

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 utilise indigenous low-carbon and renewable sources of heat... (read on)


Draft Policy Statement on Geothermal Energy for a Circular Economy 2022.pdf

The Irish District Energy Association (IrDEA), founded in 2017 and its purpose is to promote the development of District Heating & Cooling (DHC) in Ireland. IrDEA currently represents 29 members from a variety of sectors from consultancy and technology providers, to the public sector and academia. Countries with similar climates, populations, and energy systems to Ireland have proven that district energy ...(read on)


REI 40 by 30 Full Text.pdf


This plan was developed by XD Consulting on behalf of REI and with the expert advice of organisations working in district heating, bioenergy, heat pumps, renewable gas and geothermal.

The plan clearly shows that 40 per cent of Ireland’s heat can be provided by renewable sources primarily from bioenergy, heat pumps, renewable gas and district heating networks. There is no single solution to decarbonising our heating system but we can heat our homes, schools, hospitals and businesses using a combination of several different heating technologies... (read on)



40 by 30 Media Briefing 2021.pdf

The Programme for Government includes a target of 7% annual reduc ons in CO2 emissions over the next decade which equates to a 51% reduc on in ten years, meaning Ireland must transition rapidly to renewable heat. Renewable Energy Ireland commissioned this report to set out an ambitious and feasible target for reducing our emissions in the heat sector by 2030... (read on)



Policy Archive



Irish District Energy Association

13 Adelaide Road, Saint Kevins, Dublin 2, D02 P950 

Company Registration: 619382

info@districtenergy.ie

089 4946654


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