Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is a bioliquid which can be used as a renewable energy source and which, in a transport context, is classified as a biofuel. HVO is currently available for consumers to purchase for use in both transport and heating. The Climate Action Plan includes a range of measures to address the use of fossil fuels in heating systems in buildings, with the National Heat Study, published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, containing the detailed analysis that is informing the development of options to decarbonise the heating and cooling sectors in the period to 2050.
The National Heat Study considered a number of potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of dwellings and business premises. These included the use of liquid biofuels such as HVO, solid biomass, biogases, as well 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. However, the National Heat Study also recognised the potential role for sustainable bioenergy for buildings that require alternative routes to decarbonisation, and that is being considered as part of a suite of measures to decarbonise heat.
The Programme for Government 2025 contains a commitment to targeting older homes still using oil to switch to renewable heating systems and to consider the use of sustainable biofuels to reduce emissions from existing home boilers where deep retrofits are not possible in the short term. These commitments are framing the work underway to finalise a Roadmap to Phase Out Fossil Fuel Heating Systems, which will set out Ireland's overarching approach to decarbonising the heat sector.
My Department is also working on the introduction of a Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO) for the heat sector. Under current proposals, the RHO will obligate suppliers of all fossil fuels used for heating purposes to ensure a proportion of the energy they supply is renewable. As such, all renewable fuels, including HVO and other bioliquids used for heat that satisfy the sustainability criteria of the Renewable Energy Directive, will be considered eligible for certification under the scheme. The RHO Heads of Bill were approved by Government and drafting of the RHO legislation is currently underway.
