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Geothermal could help Ireland to meet EU renewable targets

Geothermal could help Ireland to meet EU renewable targets Ballinskelligs Bay, Ring of Kerry, Ireland (source: flickr/ Jim Linwood, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 12 Apr 2016

New research published by the Geological Survey of Ireland indicates that geothermal energy could play an important role in Ireland reaching renewable energy targets set by the European Union.

Geothermal heat and power could, if its potential is exploited be of great benefit to Ireland in helping the country meet is EU renewable energy targets. At a recent workshop, IRETHERM, an interdisciplinary project connecting academia and industry in order to foster research related to the development of geothermal energy in Ireland, released results of its work.

After five years of work on a variety of targets in Ireland, employing and developing tools in many geoscientific scientific disciplines, this project is coming to its end. The workshop aimed at not only to present work done in this project, but also to point out research needs, and collect ideas for the future.

In a news piece, it is reported that the results announced at the workshop of the Geothermal Association of Ireland ” highlighted that every location in the country has the potential to harness shallow geothermal energy using ground source heat pumps.

Geothermal Association of Ireland chairman Ric Pasquali said geothermal energy was “one of Ireland’s hidden assets” when it comes to alternative means of heating and cooling homes and businesses.

Pasquali told the Examiner newspaper, “Ireland has an excellent source of shallow geothermal energy, which, coupled with a heat pump technology, can be used for space heating, cooling and hot water. It is also cost-efficient, returning an average consistent delivery of up to four units of heat for every unit of electricity used to power the pumps. Geothermal is also the only renewable energy source that is available 24/7, regardless of climatic conditions.”

 

Source: Decentralized Energy