Carbon reductions in Ireland – where is the appetite for sustainable biofuels?

Ireland is a divided country, not just by geography, but also by bureaucracy. The Republic is part of the European Union whereas Northern Ireland is part of the UK and therefore not part of the EU. But following Brexit and the fiasco around movement of goods, we now have the Windsor Framework which was meant to alleviate some of the new barriers that came between the EU and UK, NI and GB. It’s complicated and talking to any business involved in cross-border and cross-channel trade the feeling is that it’s a controversial trading relationship.

In terms of energy policy, we have a single market for electricity, and this works well. On the liquid fuel side, kerosene is the main heating fuel for 60% of homes in NI and 40% of homes in the Republic (c.1.2M homes).
Both jurisdictions have obligations to meet serious carbon reductions by 2030 but are approaching this with varying degrees of ambition. In the Republic, under the EU’s Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) they have agreed to deliver a 42% reduction of emissions compared to 2005 levels by 2030.

The latest EPA projections show that currently implemented policies and measures (WEM) will achieve a reduction of 9.5% on 2005 levels by 2030, significantly short of the 42% reduction target. So, in response, Minister Darragh O’Brien has drafted legislation (The Renewable Heating Obligation) which is proposed to be introduced in 2026. As written currently, it proposes a low start rate – 1.5% and 3 % in years one and two.

Hard to ignore

As previously reported, OFTEC and UKIFDA have provided robust evidence to show the industry is ready to deploy at up to 20% to make a real difference in terms of carbon reductions, and discussions are ongoing around a 5%, 10% and 15% blend of HVO into kerosene to 2030.

Our unique selling point (USP) is that a 20% blend of HVO will give the same carbon reduction as the installation of 160,000 heat pumps in one go – that is hard point for government to ignore.

If we look at what is happening in Northern Ireland, things are moving at a much slower pace. Energy is a devolved matter in NI, meaning local politicians could do something completely different to Westminster, but looking at what happened several years ago with the RHI biomass fiasco, it is unlikely that a NI Minister will risk deviating far from UK policy.

We are still waiting on a NI Energy Strategy from the Department of Economy (it was promised in the summer) and recently the Department for Communities (DfC) held an open session on the Draft Climate Action Plan that is currently being prepared. Note this CAP is for the years 2023 – 2027 and we are already near the end of 2025! Alarmingly, the plan advocates two technologies for the 526,000 homes that currently use heating oil; a switch to natural gas and low carbon heating technologies delivered through electrification – there is no mention of sustainable biofuels.

These proposals are being put forward despite the plan itself stating “it is recognised that fuel switching to natural gas is not a long-term solution to emissions reduction” and the Department of Economy in its recent consultation on support for low carbon heating in residential buildings stating “the cost of running a heat pump is less expensive compared to a gas boiler but would be more expensive compared to an oil boiler” and in its consultation Using Biofuels to Transition Away from Fossil Fuels for Heating “technologies like heat pumps are currently costlier than traditional boilers”.

Lacking ambition

The plan lacks any real ambition and in terms of low-carbon homes, it proposes a budget of only £1.8M for supporting 250 homes to move to heat pumps by 2027! The saving from this will deliver approx. 825 tonnes of carbon – a negligible amount.

The NI Audit Office agrees with us as it recently published a damning report on the green energy strategy implementation, explaining that since 2020, £107M has been spent in a bid to deliver net zero targets and affordable energy, but concluding that there is a very significant risk that two of the three key targets will be missed by 2030.

Given the audit office findings and the lacklustre draft Climate Action Plan, our industry feels rightly aggrieved as we have lobbied hard on sustainable biofuels being part of the solution, even going as far as establishing a joint industry and DfE biofuels group to provide detailed information and address supply and sustainability issues.

Urgency

Following the damning report we have written to every MLA suggesting they need to urgently get DfC to review the plan with a view to including sustainable biofuels. If this Government is serious about reducing emissions, sustainable biofuels need to be part of the solution.

A deployment of a 20% HVO blend would deliver carbon savings in the region of 500,000 tonnes, immediately – a very hard statistic for government to ignore given that the 2030 deadline is just around the corner.

_{Image provided by OFTEC}