SOUTH DUBLIN CASE STUDY

Project Summary

The Tallaght District Heating Scheme (TDHS) began its first phase in the Tallaght Town Centre area under HeatNet NWE. This area has been identified as having a high heat demand density, which is a key indicator for district heating viability.

The company operating the TDHS is fully-owned by South Dublin County Council and is the first not-for-profit energy utility in Ireland.

There are different types of heat customers in this area with high heat loads, located in close proximity to a large, commercial waste heat source. This is the ideal scenario for implementing a successful, low-carbon district heating system.

The first phase of the TDHS has the benefit of guaranteed customers in the form of existing Council buildings, along with a planned new high-density residential development, which is in close proximity to the Council buildings and can be directly connected during the construction phase. The system is ideally placed to connect to other big users in the area such as The Square shopping centre and the Technological University Dublin-Tallaght Campus.

This innovative district heating scheme will utilise waste heat from a local data centre, to supply a centralised, large-scale heat pump, housed in an on-site pump house. The plan for the TDHS is to connect as many heat demands as possible, switching customers from current fossil fuel heat supply to low-carbon, sustainably-sourced heat supply; Phase 1 alone will save 1,441 tonnes of CO₂ annually.

The successful roll-out of the Tallaght system will enable South Dublin County Council to expand district heating to other areas of the County that also have significant potential. Find out more in the Case Study Report Cards and Evaluation Report.

You can also read the latest news stories about the Tallaght District Heating Scheme in the Irish Times newspaper, and in The Echo newspaper here and here.