______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 23/04/2024
Question Number(s): 134 Question Reference(s): 17902/24
Department: Environment, Climate and Communications
Asked by: David Stanton T.D.
______________________________________________
QUESTION
To ask the Minister for the Environment; Climate and Communications to outline his policy with respect to the development and utilisation of hydrotreated vegetable oil in Ireland; the amount currently being used nationally; his projections for the future use of HVO; the timescales for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
REPLY
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is a bioliquid which can be used as a renewable energy and which, in a transport context, is classified as a biofuel.
In the context of HVO as a bioliquid for heating purposes, the Climate Action Plan (CAP) includes a range of measures to address the use of fossil fuel in heating systems in buildings, and the National Heat Study contains the detailed analysis that is informing the development of options, policies and measures to decarbonise the heating and cooling sectors to 2050. The Study considered a number of potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of dwelling and business types. This included the use of liquid biofuels such as HVO, solid biomass, biogases and other technologies such as heat pumps and district heating networks.
The recommendation of the Heat Study is that heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation path for heating systems, with district heating also being an option that can be widely deployed. There are, therefore, no current plans to provide support for the use of HVO in a heating context.
The production and use of HVO in heating specifically is not currently monitored in Ireland.
