The Republic of Ireland’s Department for Environment, Climate Change and Communications shared details of a public consultation on the scoping report for the environmental assessment of the draft emerging policy statement on geothermal energy .

The energy white paper, Ireland’s transition to a low carbon energy future 2015-2030, provided for the establishment of a regulatory framework to facilitate the exploration and development of geothermal energy resources. The program for the government, “Our common future”, is committed to supporting the development of district heating. Geothermal energy has the potential to be an energy source for district heating, as evidenced by the report “An Assessment of Geothermal Energy for District Heating in Ireland” published by the Geological Survey Ireland in November 2020.

Geothermal energy resources have been shown to be secure, consistent, environmentally sustainable, effectively carbon neutral and cost effective. Geothermal energy can play an important role in decarbonising the heat and energy sectors in Ireland.

We published “Geothermal Energy in Ireland – A Roadmap for Policy and Regulatory Framework”. As part of this roadmap, a draft policy statement on geothermal energy will be released in December. The policy statement will state:

• An explanation of how geothermal energy can be harnessed
• The different types of geothermal projects
• Environmental considerations
• A regulatory framework for geothermal energy projects

Strategic environmental assessment

As part of the policy development process, the draft emerging policy statement was considered for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) under the 2004 European Communities Regulations (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programs) (such as modified). It has been determined that SEA is required for the draft emerging policy statement. The SEA Screening Decision and the SEA Screening Report are below.

• Determining the SEA Screening for the New Draft Geothermal Energy Policy Statement: To download
• SEA Screening Report for the New Draft Geothermal Energy Policy Statement: To download

We engaged external consultants to undertake a strategic environmental assessment of the likely significant environmental effects of the draft emerging policy statement on geothermal energy.

The next step in the SEA process is defining the scope of the environmental report, which involves determining the scope, level of detail and range of environmental issues to be covered by the SEA. An SEA scoping report was prepared by the consultants for consultation with environmental authorities, as required by law. Submissions on the scoping report are also solicited from the general public.

Consultation questions:

1. Based on the plans, policies and programs described in the scoping report, are there other important international, national or regional plans, policies or programs that should be considered in the environmental SEA report on the policy statement on geothermal energy?
2. Are there any effects or impacts that should be taken into account in the environmental report of the SEA on the draft policy statement, which were not described in the scoping report?
3. Do you have any comments regarding the draft SEA objectives as presented in the scoping report?
4. Do you have any suggestions or comments regarding the overall approach to alternatives, as presented in the scoping report?

Scoping Report for the Environmental Assessment of the New Draft Geothermal Energy Policy Statement: To download

All submissions are welcome and will be considered when finalizing the policy statement.

The closing date for submissions is 5:30 p.m. 22 November 2021

Submissions should be marked Consulting on the Scope of SEA of Geothermal Energy and sent by email to [email protected] or by mail to:

Geoscience Policy Division

Ministry of Environment, Climate and Communications
29-31 Adelaide Road
Dublin, D02 X285
Ireland

Source: Official release