Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 70: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to combine heat and power in public buildings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43313/09]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is a highly efficient way of generating onsite heat and electricity simultaneously. It can offer significantly reduced energy bills for the end user and is a particularly efficient form of energy generation as it minimises any transmission losses involved in getting power to the site. Traditionally, CHP plants were only used in large industrial units with a high on-site heat load. Increasingly the technology is developing higher efficiency, smaller scale units that are capable of servicing smaller buildings and even down to individual residential scale units.

As this technology becomes more common in the market, smaller commercial premises, including public buildings, can now reduce their energy costs by installing CHP systems. Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), administers the Deployment Programme for CHP technologies. The programme was expanded in early 2008 to include dedicated support for Biomass and Anaerobic Digestion powered CHP.

Under the SEI Support Programme a significant number of Public Buildings have taken advantage of the benefits of CHP, or are currently in the process of doing so. For example, three separate academic institutions have installed CHP systems, with a total electrical capacity of 850 kilowatts, and two more are in the process of installing systems with an electrical capacity of 750 kilowatts. In the Health sector, 5 hospitals have already installed CHP systems with a total electrical capacity of 770 kilowatts, and 3 local authorities sites have installed systems with an electrical capacity of 350 kilowatts, with one more in construction.

The Renewable Heat Deployment Programme (ReHeat), which incentivises the installation of biomass boilers, is also open to institutional users of heat, and has already supported the construction of a number of projects where the heat load was not sufficient to justify the expense of a CHP plant. Taken together, CHP technologies and the projects supported by Reheat offer a real and immediate solution to energy costs in these types of institutions by reducing the cost of power and increasing the overall energy efficiency of the buildings.

There are particular challenges for Ireland in achieving significant CHP penetration given our dispersed low density population and the characteristics of the built environment. The improvements in CHP technology and the ongoing work of SEI with the Public Sector and industry will help us to overcome the challenges.