Tallaght District Heating Scheme

How it Works

The first of its kind in Ireland, this groundbreaking district heating scheme operates under the not-for-profit utility Heat Works and is fully owned by South Dublin County Council. 

By reusing waste heat from a nearby data centre, since April 2023 the scheme has provided reliable, efficient, and low-carbon heating to key buildings, including the TUD Main Campus, TUD Sports Building, SDCC County Hall, and Tallaght Library. In 2024, the network was extended to include Work IQ and the 133 Cost Rental apartments at Innovation Square, further expanding its reach and impact. The Tallaght District Heating Network has already demonstrated its environmental benefits, saving 1,264.98 tons of CO2 in 2024 alone, contributing significantly to our decarbonisation goals. With a view to the future, South Dublin County Council are exploring potential expansion options and funding streams to secure additional customers for the network.

Energy Globe Award 2024

The Tallaght District Heating Scheme was awarded the prestigious Energy Globe Award 2024 for Ireland, recognising its significant contribution to sustainable heating and carbon reduction in the Tallaght area. The Energy Globe Award is an environmental prize, awarded to sustainable projects. 

This award highlights the important role of innovative energy solutions in reducing carbon emissions and supporting sustainable development in Ireland.

RODEO

The RODEO (Rolling Out DHC Extensively to Home Owners) project, part of the Interreg North-West Europe programme, aims to expand district heating and cooling (DHC) networks to include the residential sector. By implementing pilot projects in cities like Dublin, Oostende, Dunkerque and Assen, RODEO supports a smart and fair energy transition, making sustainable heating accessible to more households.

Along with South Dublin County Council, RODEO has nine other partners from Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Ireland: Codema (IE), City of Ostend (BE), Autonomous Agency Ostend (BE), Municipality of Asse (NL), Great Dunkirk (FR), Public Housing Office of the Nord department – Partenord Habitat (FR), Exceedence Ltd. (IE), Hanze University of Applied Sciences (NL) and Endeavour (BE). 

These partners will be cooperating from 2025 – 2028. 

RODEO is co-funded by the European Union; the total project budget is €5,134,551, just over €3 million of which comes from EU funding.

Objectives

District Heating and Cooling (DHC) is a major tool for the energy transition of city neighbourhoods, featuring prominently in many local climate plans. Developing grids is an economical challenge. RODEO aims to introduce a more participative business model that rebalances the costs, benefits and risks of developing DHC. The model will be validated in four pilot cities that are developing their own DHC systems. 

The project’s objectives align with the Interreg North-West Europe programme priority ‘smart and just energy transition’ and more specifically ‘promoting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions’. 

Project aims