Feasibility study for new district heating scheme for Grange Castle

A feasibility study for Grange Castle Business Park is included as part of a €9m investment into expanding the Tallaght District Heating Scheme.

A quarter of a million euros has been set aside for various climate action and public realm works in South Dublin as the council look to expand several ongoing projects.

The Tallaght District Heating Scheme is set for an expansion that will cost seven figures.

€9m has been put aside to expand the council’s district heating scheme to areas outside of Tallaght, two and a half years after it became operational.

South Dublin County Council Director of Planning and Transport Teresa Walsh noted that part of that sum will be dedicated to a feasibility study for a new scheme to be created for Grange Castle Business Park.

If viable, the network will provide heating for the growing enterprise centre, which includes multiple data centres.

Studies relating to the potential scheme are set to be carried out this year.

The expansion is earmarked to include a new housing and mixed-use development in Cookstown, while the possibility of an additional scheme in a local business park is being touted.

Walsh said that the scheme currently operates at four megawatts but has the potential for more.

The SDCC Director of Planning and Transport said: “The full capacity for the Tallaght scheme is 10 megawatts.

“So, we propose that we would now move on to providing the infrastructure to deliver those additional connections which will further deliver district heating to new housing and mixed-use development in the Cookstown area as well as connecting further state and commercial buildings.”

Current beneficiaries of the scheme include SDCC themselves and other public sector workplaces, like Technological University Dublin in Tallaght, but also some cost-rental apartments in Innovation Square.

The existing network makes use of excess heat from Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) data centre to provide low carbon heat to the network customers.

Funding has been awarded to the project for development of the Phase 2 model under EU Interreg RODEO Programme which commenced in Jan 2025.

Discussions with the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment are ongoing to finalise the Climate Action Funding figure for this second phase.

SDCC noted that they are continuing to work with the Department, as well as the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and Codema to advance District Heating projects in South Dublin.

“A full report on the district heating and the expansion and the feasibility will be brought back to council in a couple of months.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.