Ireland's Plumbing & Heating Issue 119 May-June

OFTEC IRELAND NEWS

ADDRESSING THE NORTHERN IRELAND AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, OFTEC IRELAND MANAGER DAVID BLEVINGS OUTLINED HOW LIQUID RENEWABLE FUELS ARE ESSENTIAL TO NORTHERN IRELAND’S DECARBONISATION PATHWAY… Renewable liquid fuel obligation will allow Northern Ireland to meet its decarbonisation targets

A call for the UK Government to introduce a Renewable Liquid Heating Fuel Obligation (RLHFO) to ensure the UK’s decarbonisation journey is successful was well received at a meeting of Westminster’s Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. Appearing alongside Paddy Larkin (CEO at Mutual Energy), John Boyce (Wind Development Director at Renewable Energy Systems) and Mark Fitch (Corporate Development Director at Transmission Investment), OFTEC made the case for diversifying Northern Ireland’s energy supply in order to meet decarbonisation targets. As part of OFTEC’s evidence, the committee heard how it is our belief that the much- needed solution to reduce demand on electricity production can be found in renewable liquid fuels - specifically hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). Replacing kerosene heating oil with a renewable liquid fuel will ensure that off-grid households across Northern Ireland 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 in Northern Ireland. Currently, 526,000 homes in Northern Ireland

David Blevings, OFTEC Ireland Manager, addressing the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in Westminster, advocating for liquid renewable fuels.

“The science shows there is more than enough feedstock to supply the UK and Ireland’s heating requirements using HVO.”

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