Belfast City Council has launched its first Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP) – and the first in Northern Ireland.
Local Area Energy Planning is an integrated approach that sets out place-based whole energy systems pathways to help reach net zero.
Belfast said its new LAEP capitalised on its geographical assets, including the potential for geothermal energy, since the city sits on Sherwood Sandstone.
The plan, developed by the council and stakeholders, also presents possible projects like a district heat network, retrofitting buildings, transitioning oil households to low carbon heating, and deploying solar panels.
The chair of the council’s climate and city resilience committee, Róis-Máire Donnelly, said: ‘The Belfast LAEP marks the beginning of a new chapter for Belfast’s energy system by championing collaboration and the collective action needed to address the climate crisis.
‘With strong commitments from both the public and private sectors to work together on these critical initiatives, the LAEP can ensure that the benefits of this transition are shared widely across Belfast.’
By September last year, 66 UK councils had adopted or were developing an LAEP.
