EU visit to the Tallaght District Heating Scheme

The visit was a great opportunity for our team to showcase our work in district heating. Our CEO, Donna Gartland, shared perspectives on how Ireland compares to other EU countries regarding renewable energy in the heating sector. Neil O’Leary, Codema’s Executive Manager – District Heating, then spoke about the origins and growth plans of the Tallaght District Heating Scheme, as well as other schemes we are working on.

Attendees were then given a tour of the Tallaght District Heating Scheme by Admir Shala, Codema’s District Heating Development Manager.

The Tallaght District Heating Scheme is the first large-scale district heating network of its kind in Ireland. The scheme operates under Heat Works, Ireland’s first not-for-profit energy utility, fully owned by South Dublin County Council. The scheme makes a significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions in the area, saving almost 1,500 tonnes of CO2 each year and establishing Tallaght as a leader in innovative local climate action.

The Tallaght District Heating Scheme uses waste heat from the nearby Amazon data centre and the tour was a great opportunity to see the utilisation of waste heat being put into climate action.

The visit was also an opportunity to highlight Codema’s role in two European projects that are supporting the Tallaght District Heating Scheme. The first project – DISCO – is an Interreg Europe project which focuses on helping local authorities improve policies that support low-carbon heating and cooling, with a particular emphasis on making better use of waste heat that is currently lost to air or water.

The second project, RODEO, is funded through the Interreg North-West Europe programme and aims to accelerate the roll out of district heating and cooling systems in residential areas, addressing a key challenge in the energy transition.