UN International Day of Clean Energy
26 January is UN International Day of Clean Energy and at TU Dublin investing in renewable and green energy is one of six vital, high-impact decarbonisation measures that will help Ireland achieve its emissions reduction targets as set out by the National Climate Action Plan.
As part of many on-going decarbonisation initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, our research at TU Dublin aims to find efficient, cleaner, and more sustainable sources of energy.
TU Dublin's two most impactful and innovative decarbonisation projects are the District Heating System initiative at our Tallaght campus, and the deep-bore geothermal heating exploration project at our Grangegorman campus. Both projects are pioneering in national efforts to decarbonise Ireland’s energy and in 2019 One million Euro in Higher Education Authority Performance Funding was awarded to TU Dublin in recognition of our major decarbonisation initiatives.
One of TU Dublin's major decarbonisation projects is the collaborative ‘Heatworks’ district heating system which uses recovered heat from a nearby Amazon data centre to provide low carbon heat to the largest buildings on the Tallaght campus. This district heating network is a partnership between South Dublin County Council, Amazon Web Services and Codema and is Ireland’s first low-carbon sourced district heating system to act as a public utility. TU Dublin was instrumental in bringing this innovative initiative about through our participation as an anchor energy user but also through its development in our academic programmes.
It is estimated that in this first phase of the Tallaght District Heating Network delivery, the carbon emissions reduction for the overall Tallaght area will be over 1,500 tonnes per year. For TU Dublin, those carbon emissions savings are estimated to amount to a reduction of approximately 400 tonnes of CO₂e per year. District heating systems are future-proofed to provide heat, not only excess heat from a plant but from multiple renewable sources including natural resources like geothermal.
Another major decarbonisation project which has the potential to significantly reduce TU Dublin’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is the deep bore hole geothermal investigation on our campus at Grangegorman. Partnering with Geological Survey Ireland, CODEMA and in cooperation with the Grangegorman Development Agency, this deep bore geothermal well is the first deep geothermal project in Ireland and it is hoped that this innovative project will be able to provide renewable heat to the district heating network which is already installed at Grangegorman. Subject to funding, heat from the geothermal system will be used to transition existing gas-fired boilers on the campus.
It is the first deep geothermal district-heating demonstration project in Ireland and is expected to provide valuable lessons for the development of an indigenous geothermal industry for Ireland in the future.
These clean energy projects are a first in the Irish market and act as a test-bed for other organisations as they plan for clean transitions. They also offer our own TU Dublin researchers the chance to study replicability and allow our students the opportunity to develop new urban services, products, and skills as they prepare for engagement in this emerging industry. These decarbonisation initiatives are among many other sustainability-focused initiatives here at TU Dublin that actively support the Sustainable Development Goal SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy.
Cover photo: Wind turbine at TU Dublin, on the Tallaght campus by Paul Butler.