Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 June 2023
81. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the results of the geothermal study conducted at Carlinn Hall have been received; when he plans to make them available; the next steps in finalising a lasting solution for the residents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28754/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis is a question I have been trying to ask for a considerable amount of time. It relates to the Carlinn Hall housing estate in Dundalk. We all know the difficulties that have arisen with communal heating systems, particularly when they are gas powered. A geothermal study has been carried out and I would like an update on where that is, when it will be published and the next steps to be able to deliver a proper solution.
In fairness to Deputy Ó Murchú he has been very assiduous and diligent on following this issue. The SEAI-led national heat study found that district heating can deliver enough decarbonised heat to meet a significant portion of Ireland's renewable heat targets. In this context 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. This is a new concept to Ireland.
Group or communal heating schemes such as Carlinn Hall, and earlier Deputy Bacik mentioned some in her constituency, are smaller-scale systems that typically supply single buildings or complexes. In light of the issues faced by such group schemes an independent consultancy was commissioned by the SEAI to complete a report on the viability of retrofitting an existing communal heating system with a shallow geothermal energy source using Carlinn Hall as the case study.
The report will be provided in two parts. Recommendations will be made on heat network efficiency, options for a low-carbon heat alternative and the costs of installation and operation. The final draft of this initial element is due for review by the project steering group and is expected to be completed within the next month. The second part will extract the main learning on heat network decarbonisation in Ireland. This part is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.
I understand the report is behind schedule due to the complexity of assessing low-carbon technology applications for group heating schemes in an Irish context. In a short number of weeks we will have it and we will publish and share it. I hope we will put it to good use in many buildings where we can implement the solutions.
It goes without saying that we need this work done as assiduously as possible, particularly from the point of view of finding a solution that will work. There is a problem with these communal heating systems particularly when they are gas fed. We need to look at legislative change. I would like to find out when the task force or working group will come out with its set of recommendations. We do not want to recreate the situation. There are a number of apartment complexes in Dublin. There are 200 homes in Carlinn Hall. When the price of gas went through the roof people paid extortionate amounts and that is not viable.
We need those sorts of solutions. They will most likely be delivered by third parties. We need to make sure we have the grant schemes and everything else in place. I know the Minister does not want to jump the gun but are we looking at this review that is being carried out being relatively positive and maybe having a possible solution?
I will have to wait for the completion of the report. I do not want to second-guess it. The independent group has to conclude its work. As I said, there is a distinction, which we discussed earlier, between group central heating systems and district heating. We will, in all likelihood, need both. In my mind, the real large-scale development is on the district heating side. The real benefit there is that a waste product is used and turned into a useful resource. It is common across many European jurisdictions. It has not been developed here but we need to scale that up. We need to learn lessons where there are schemes. I remember Carlinn Hall as an example. I think I was there at the very start of the project when I was formerly Minister responsible for energy. The report would be useful not just for that facility but to make sure we do not have a situation where householders are caught out if, for example, the gas markets skyrocket, there is no flexibility, and it goes straight off the market price. We have to learn lessons from what happened.
I agree. We have all seen district heating systems and the idea of using waste heat from big industrial operations. That is a definite win. The problem with these is that they were communal heating systems that were obviously fed initially by biomass and, for multiple reasons, possibly even planning laws and so on, which all need to be looked at and which I have corresponded with the Minister on, they were moved to gas. From an environmental point of view, it was a complete disaster and, from a cost point of view, it has become a nightmare. We need this SEAI report as soon as possible. We need to see what the possibilities are.
We also need to make sure there are grant schemes that can deliver because, at the end of the day, the Minister is talking about a management company and residents having to try to get agreement and having to engage a third party to put in this solution. We need to make sure we have all the parts in place to facilitate people who are willing to do whatever is necessary, because obviously what is happening at the minute is not sustainable. We need rules to make sure we do not have these disaster communal heating systems being fed by gas and more being built, because I hear that is happening.
We have to be careful. There are real benefits and advantages to many communal heating systems. I was at the SEAI energy show a number of months ago. It was interesting to see how it is evolving, including new ground-sourced and air-sourced heat pumps. A whole range of different technological innovations are happening.
That is fine.
There can be real benefits from communal heating systems as well as from district heating. We just have to make sure-----
These types of systems, obviously.
If there are particular circumstances where market price volatility really seems to be shooting up, I think communal heating systems as well as district heating can be designed in a way that gives some of that stability. We have to be careful we do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are real benefits of communal heating systems. We just need to get the design and technology right so that there are not any price shocks for householders. There will always be variability. Sometimes that can be on the positive side. When market prices were very low, there could be real benefits, but nobody wants high energy price shocks and we have to look at how we design that out of any future contracts and systems.
