OFTEC IRELAND NEWS
Amammoth task but liquid fuel industry is up for the challenge
OFTEC WELCOMES INCLUSION OF BIOFUELS AS ENERGY STRATEGY CONSULTATION SEEKS ROADMAP TO NET ZERO EMISSIONS...
W hen it comes to decarbonising home heating in Northern Ireland, it’s not a case of one size fits all, instead it is going to take a mammoth effort from all sectors of society to achieve net zero greenhouse gasses by 2050. At OFTEC we welcome a major first step in this journey with Economy Minister, Diane Dodds launching a public consultation on a new Northern Ireland energy strategy. We are also pleased to see the inclusion of biofuels in the consultation as an option for the 500,000 homes in NI using liquid fuelled heating systems. The Energy Strategy was released at the end of March to the public outlining ideas to achieve net zero carbon and affordable
energy in Northern Ireland. We would urge everyone to get involved and have their say on this very important issue. The consultation has proposed two broad approaches to phasing out fossil fuel heating oils for off-grid consumers. In one of these scenarios, oil boilers would be banned, which would place a significant emphasis on heat pumps for off-grid properties. The second of these options continues to allow oil boilers for properties and would instead focus on phasing out the sale of fossil fuels. This option would give consumers a range of options for their home heating including biofuels and biomass in addition to heat pumps. It has been estimated that bringing homes already heated by liquid fuel up to an
acceptable level of insulation would cost on average between £12,300 - £18,900 depending on the type of property. The subsequent average installation cost of an air source heat pump would add approximately an additional £11,000. OFTEC believes that consumer choice must lie at the heart of any new energy strategy and given the costs of retrofitting above, believe many will opt to retain their liquid fuelled boiler and decarbonise their fuel instead. We have always said that heat pumps are a great option for new and well insulated homes but over 50% of houses here are below SAP level C and not very thermally efficient. These homes will require extensive and expensive remedial work to bring them up to the optimum level for
“In the longer term we see HVO playing an important role in helping Northern Ireland meet its net zero commitments.”
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