Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

An application by Dublin City Council to capture heat from the waste heat generated at the Dublin waste to energy plant and pipe it into homes and businesses in the Poolbeg, Ringsend and Docklands area of Dublin was successful in being approved for up to €20 million of support from the climate action fund. I understand up to 90MW of waste heat is produced at the Dublin waste to energy plant that has the potential to heat the equivalent of 50,000 homes and would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. The proportion of this heat to be used as part of the district heating project will depend on the level of heat demand connected to the network and is expected to grow over the lifetime of the project. I have visited the plant and understand from the operators that the project also has the potential to double the energy efficiency of the plant.

The detailed validation of the project is under way. However, the project has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions.  The reduction has been estimated at over 30,000 tons of carbon over a ten-year period for the initial phases of the project. I should also mention a similar project in south County Dublin on a slightly smaller scale in the same group. I hope these two significant district heating projects will achieve their potential.

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