| Abstract |
Northern Ireland, in line with the United Kingdom aims to achieve a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2050 compared to a 1990 baseline. Currently the heat sector within Northern Ireland accounts for 59% of all energy consumption, and the agriculture sector is responsible for 29% of Northern Ireland’s GHG emissions. Geothermal energy has been utilised globally within the Agri-Food sector, across a range of temperatures (20°C-100°C+), providing year-round readily available heat supporting decarbonisation within the dairy, horticulture, drying and distillation industries. Northern Ireland has three main lithologies with geothermal potential: Carboniferous Sandstones, Radiogenic Granite, and Permo-Triassic Sandstones. These Permo-Triassic sandstones extend across much of the North of Northern Ireland and across into Great Britain, reaching as far as mainland Europe, such as the Netherlands, where they have been successfully utilised for horticulture. Despite this opportunity to decarbonise heat in Northern Ireland’s highest emitting sector, geothermal energy remains undeveloped and underutilised. The project aims to demonstrate the potential for the application of direct use geothermal energy within the Agri-Food sector in Northern Ireland by utilising spatial analysis approaches to match geothermal prospectivity with existing carbon-intensive Agri-Food applications to maximise decarbonisation potentials. By further exploring the reasons for the lack of uptake to date, the project will aim to develop tangible stakeholder-focused approaches to support the adoption of geothermal energy across the Northern Ireland Agri-Food sector. |