OFTEC IRELAND NEWS
decarbonisation policy differs in NI and RoI. While it is certainly a positive that RoI’s consultation on the use of biofuels in home heating has already been issued by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, OFTEC hopes there will be a level of consistency across both policies as they become legislation. Consumers and the wider industry stand to benefit from policies that are consistent and ensure a level playing field on both sides of the border. Ultimately, decarbonisation can only be achieved with consent, and it is crucial that businesses and consumers understand policy plans, view them as fair and feel their views have been listened to. “With over 500,000 homes across NI relying on oil for household heating, we believe a mandatory transition to heat pumps, and the insulation measures required to make this technology advantageous, will simply not work and could leave many homeowners struggling financially.”
in one basket is not a sensible option. To get the necessary buy in from the public to achieve decarbonisation, we will need to use all low-carbon and no-carbon technologies available to us. The electrification of home heating systems via heat pumps may be the right answer for some, but for most, low carbon solutions will be required. With over 500,000 homes across Northern Ireland relying on oil for household heating, we believe a mandatory transition to heat pumps, and the insulation measures required to make this technology advantageous, will simply not work and could leave many homeowners struggling financially. However, there is a simple, cost- effective modification that can be made to current heating systems, which can reduce the average household’s carbon footprint by 88%. Use of the renewable liquid fuel hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) has been successfully trialled in 150 rural premises across the UK, including NI. With two companies already in discussion with Invest NI about bringing commercial production of HVO to Derry/Londonderry, the industry is in a position to commercialise this approach.
Replacing kerosene heating oil with a renewable liquid fuel will ensure that off-grid households across NI can decarbonise in an easy, affordable and non-disruptive way. While great progress is being made in decarbonising our electricity systems, we simply do not have the capacity to transition, en masse, from liquid heating systems to electrically-heated homes. We believe the inclusion of renewable liquid fuels like HVO in future heating strategies for NI will prove beneficial for both the environment and householder finances. In RoI, OFTEC attended a briefing session in Leinster House organised by Senator Erin McGreehan and highlighted some of the issues that can arise, especially in border counties, when discrepancies in fuel policies occur between NI and RoI. With the Irish government set to introduce a further excise duty increase in August, fuel retailers operating along the border could be facing a huge disadvantage in comparison to retailers in NI, where fuel duty will not increase in the next 12 months. This issue serves as a prime example of the problems that could arise if
With HVO, there is real potential for an affordable solution to the decarbonisation conundrum to be presented to the consumer.
The science shows there is more than enough feedstock to supply the UK and Ireland’s heating requirements using HVO and we already have the equipment, support and a workforce capable of applying HVO conversion at scale and maintaining distribution of the fuel through existing channels.
David Blevings, OFTEC Ireland Manager on T: +44 (0)28 9186 2916 Sean McBride, Ireland Representative on T: +44 (0)7540 502 304 (NI) or +353 (0)87 241 7041 (RoI) www.oftec.org
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