‘Energy from the ground has always been around’

There are a number of advantages to using geothermal energy in its primary form — heat — in the agri-food sector.
Widespread adoption and addition of geothermal energy to the national energy mix would require a “substantial shift” in policy and funding, according to a recent report.
Whilst work is currently underway to develop geothermal legislation at national level, the Irish geothermal sector “remains in its infancy and will need increased support from policymakers to encourage its development”.
During his time as a researcher in residence with the Oireachtas, Dr Nicholas Vafeas of University College Dublin examined the potential of geothermal energy in Ireland and the policies surrounding its development.
Dr Vafeas has said that Ireland’s focus thus far has been largely placed on renewable electricity, driven by binding targets at national and EU level.
This has now led to a lag in progress for renewable heat and an overreliance on wind energy to meet renewable energy commitments.
According to his Spotlight report, which forms part of the Science Foundation Ireland Public Service Fellowship, binding energy targets and developmental funding schemes incentivise the need for a renewable energy system that is inclusive of geothermal resources.
The report noted that despite the Climate Action Plan calling for development of a policy and regulatory framework for geothermal energy in Ireland, “as of yet, a clear policy for any real utilisation of geothermal energy remains absent in legislation”. There are currently no binding targets committed towards renewable heat.
Although legislation around exploration and regulation of geothermal energy in Ireland is absent, Geological Survey Ireland found through its assessment of geothermal energy for district heating that in 2018, there was an estimated 1,805 domestic ground-source heat pump installations in Ireland, and in addition, at least 87 commercial installations.
Despite the increasing consensus for cleaner energy use in Ireland, “encouraged by the Government and the EU, as well as general support for renewable energy in rural Ireland, the use of oil and peat for heat generation predominates outside of major city centres”.
“This is due to an overall lack of natural gas network infrastructure that has left rural Ireland with few alternatives to conventional oil heaters,” the report said. This is amidst the Government commitment outlined in the Climate Action Plan 2021 to “effectively ban” the installation of fossil fuel boilers in new homes by the end of 2023.
The author noted that there are a “number of barriers that must be addressed for the effective introduction of geothermal energy in Ireland”. These are named as: classifying the resource; planning and regulation around its use; mitigating risk; and addressing geological uncertainty.
Ownership of Ireland’s geothermal resources has not yet been defined, the report noted, but “could be based on existing models of private, public or mixed ownership”.
Geothermal projects also need “significantly greater upfront capital expenditure compared to most other renewable technologies of similar capacity”.
“The ability to raise funds needed for the development of an effective geothermal project is inherently linked to the risks associated with a failed installation,” the report said. The drilling phase of the “average shallow geothermal system” can consume up to 40% of the overall cost.
However, precise cost estimation for shallow geothermal systems can be difficult as these costs can be “highly variable, depending on a variety of factors”. These can include: local geology; drilling depth; installation size; and heating requirements. For deeper geothermal projects, the costs rise.
“In addition to the high costs, the drilling phase also contains the lowest guarantee of success,” the author said in his report.
“If a resource area that has been drilled for exploration is found to be unsuitable for a geothermal installation/development, the invested capital is lost.
"Unquantified geological risk means that investors may be more reluctant to contribute to drilling costs as they may not recover their investment if the project were to fail.
“A national Irish database containing all available information on the subsurface generated from construction, water wells, mineral and hydrocarbons exploration and other geological activities could leverage existing information to reduce costs and geological uncertainty.”
The author said that clear and decisive policies for geothermal resources would enable "successful adoption and progressive investment in this proven energy sector".