Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

117. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the measures he is taking to support renewable energy communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30275/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Programme for Government commits to ensuring that local communities benefit from Ireland’s renewable potential and in particular to promoting the Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS) to simplify market access for community owned solar and wind projects.

Through my Department’s continued engagement with Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), there is evidence of significant challenges that REC projects may face with the auction based RESS, along with grid and other barriers to project delivery. Therefore, support for RECs is now provided through the SRESS.

The SRESS export phase is designed for community, SME and farm export projects above 50kW to 6MW, offering a simpler route to market, with fixed tariffs for solar and wind, aligning more closely to their experience and the capacity of these sectors. The scheme opened for applications in January.

The RESS Community Enabling Framework was launched in 2022, offering various supports, including SEAI grants of up to €180,000. Similar supports will be available under SRESS.

To assist communities, under the Community Enabling Framework, SEAI has also undertaken eleven grid studies on a county basis to support communities in identifying sites within their locality that are most likely to have an economically viable grid connection.

Furthermore, my Department is finalising its assessment of barriers to Renewable Energy Communities, as required by the Renewable Energy Directive. My Department has also secured funding under the European Commission's Technical Support Instrument to further assess barriers and propose solutions and recommendations to support community energy development with the project set to begin in the second half of 2025.

John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

118. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the measures his Department is undertaking to encourage public sector bodies to transition to renewable energy sources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30337/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

My Department has run the Public Sector Pathfinder programme for several years now, supporting retrofitting and decarbonisation across the public sector. I was pleased to be able to allocate over €50m from the Climate Action Fund to this programme in 2025. This will support a range of projects including a pilot run in partnership with the Department of Education to convert up to 30 schools to biomass heating in 2025, as well as the scale up of major retrofitting projects across the health and further and higher education sectors, OPW sites and local authorities. Pathfinder supports public facilities through both the deployment of renewable energy such as biomass and solar on site, and the electrification of heating and cooling, which also supports the transition to renewable energy as we decarbonise the grid.

I am bringing forward ambitious plans to develop the Pathfinder programme between now and 2030 to support public bodies in their energy transition by offering up to 50% funding for projects, ranging from shallow retrofit to deep decarbonisation. Maximising the energy efficiency of buildings is crucial to enabling the transition to renewable energy sources and I will support public bodies to do both together.

Pathfinder is also providing support for feasibility studies for district heating projects. The District Heating Centre of Excellence is supporting the development of a pipeline of potential district heating projects, including in Galway. District heating has enormous potential, and public bodies can be the anchor tenants that bring district heating into communities around Ireland.

I was pleased to support the annual Public Sector Energy Conference, organised by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in the University of Galway last month, which focused on upscaling building decarbonisation in the public sector. I want to stress the progress being made by public sector bodies as highlighted at that event, including by An Post in transitioning their vehicle fleet to renewable energy sources as part of their target to achieve a 50% reduction in emissions by this year. For some public bodies, electrification of their fleet is hugely important and my Department and the SEAI support this in a variety of ways.

The Support Scheme for Renewable Heat, launched in 2019, also financially supports the adoption of renewable heating systems by the public sector. The aim of the scheme is to increase the level of renewable energy in the heat sector, and it has provided both operational and grant aid supports to a number of public sector bodies, including schools, educational facilities and local authority-owned buildings. It will continue and expand this work as the Heat Bill progresses.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

119. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the steps he is taking to accelerate the transition to renewable heat; if he has considered introducing supports for renewable fuels for home heating; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30276/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The National Heat Study, published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), contains detailed analysis that is being used by my Department to inform the development of policies and measures to decarbonise Ireland’s heating and cooling sectors by 2050. The study considered a number of potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of dwellings and business premises. This included the use of liquid biofuels such as HVO, solid biomass, biogases and other technologies such as heat pumps and district heating networks.

The recommendation of the heat study is that heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation path for heating systems in buildings, with district heating also being an option that can be widely deployed. Heat pumps are now the dominant heating technology for new builds with Central Statistics Office data showing that heat pumps were installed in 95% of new dwellings in 2024. In terms of existing homes, 3,600 heat pumps were installed in 2024 under SEAI schemes, and a further 2,400 Local Authority upgrades included a heat pump installation.

In recent years a range of measures have been put in place under the National Retrofit Plan to grow the number of heat pumps installed under the SEAI energy efficiency upgrade schemes. These include new and redesigned SEAI schemes with enhanced grant rates of up to €10,500 available for heat pumps when a B2 energy rating is achieved. The SEAI also has two heat pump pilots underway which aim to inform appropriate approaches to increase the number of heat pump installations, while ensuring quality.

Additionally, the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme, which launched in April 2024, is aimed at helping more householders to retrofit their homes, including with a heat pump. It enables homeowners to borrow €5,000-€75,000 at significantly lower interest rates to complete a home energy upgrade.

The National Heat Study also recognised the potential role for sustainable bioenergy for buildings that require alternative routes to decarbonisation, and this is being further considered as part of a suite of measures to decarbonise heating systems.

Furthermore, a Heat Policy Statement will set out Ireland's overarching approach to decarbonising the heat sector. A draft statement, informed by the findings of the National Heat Study, has been prepared by my Department and has undergone extensive consultation with other Government Departments and Agencies. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Report is in the process of being completed, and a public consultation on the SEA Report and the draft Heat Policy Statement will follow. Following completion of the consultation process, my Department will submit the draft Heat Policy Statement to Government for approval and publication.