EUR 20M cross-border fund announced to support geothermal in Ireland

Ballinskelligs Bay, Ring of Kerry, Ireland (source: flickr/ Jim Linwood, creative commons)

The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) has announced a new EUR 20 million (£17.3 million) from the PEACEPLUS programme for geothermal energy research and development. The funding has been awarded to the Geothermal Energy Momentum on the Island of Ireland (GEMINI), a multi-partner project made up of 14 organizations from both sides of the border.

GEMINI will demonstrate the uptake of geothermal energy in 5 locations – three in Northern Ireland, one in the border region of Ireland, and one in Dublin.

The project aims to accelerate the uptake of shallow geothermal energy using ground source heat pumps, as well as the development of deep geothermal energy. Recognizing the contribution of heat production to greenhouse has emissions, decarbonization of heat is central to the 2050 Net Zero emission targets of the EU, UK, and Ireland. This will, however, require the renovation and retrofit of heating infrastructure in buildings, alongside the increased use of energy from renewable sources.

The PEACEPLUS Programme has been designed to promote peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland, and has a total value of €1.14 billion, to be delivered over the next five years. Managed by the SEUPB, the Programme will support a wide range of sectors including health and social care, the protection of the environment, rural regeneration, smart towns and villages, local regeneration and mental health services.

“I welcome the launch of GEMINI, the first cross-border geothermal project. I have been clear that my intention is to deliver a just transition towards net-zero and it is a central pillar to my economic vision. Decarbonisation projects like GEMINI are key to increasing our levels of renewable energy,” said Minister for the Economy Conor Murphy MLA.

“GEMINI is also a great example of how an all-island approach to decarbonisation has the potential to deliver huge economic opportunities that can generate good jobs, improve productivity and address regional imbalance.”

“The GEMINI project complements the Irish Government’s July 2023 ‘Policy Statement on Geothermal Energy for a Circular Economy’, which sets out the broad approach to be adopted in regulating the exploration for, and the utilisation of, geothermal energy as a natural resource and the scope of a strategy to promote the sustainable development of Ireland’s geothermal resources to decarbonise the heating and cooling of buildings and for industrial uses and power generation,” added Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Mr. Eamon Ryan, T.D.

Source: Special EU Programmes Body