Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2023
164. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the District Heating Steering Group has reported to him regarding the sustainability of wood pellet stoves; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32787/23]
View answerThe question of sustainability of wood pellet stoves was not considered by the District Heating Steering Group. District heating schemes are large-scale systems that are supplied by one or several centralised or decentralised heat sources and serve multiple buildings and multiple customers.
The National Heat Study, published in February 2022, considered a number of potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of dwelling and business types. This included the use of liquid biofuels, solid biomass, biogases, and other technologies such as heat pumps and district heating networks. The Study found that heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation path for domestic heating systems, with district heating also identified as a competitive option that can be widely deployed.
These approaches are being actively prioritised by Government and the Climate Action Plan 2023 includes a range of measures to address the use of fossil fuel in heating systems in buildings. A Heat and Built Environment Delivery Taskforce has also been established to accelerate and drive delivery in relation to retrofitting, renewable heat, district heat and decarbonisation of the building stock.
