Ireland: New Legislation to Develop Geothermal Resources Coming

Government’s Legislative Programme for the Autumn Session 2015 (Lexology)

IRETHERM Target Areas (Muller et al., 2012 & Goodman, 2004)

The Irish government has recently announced its Legislative Programme for the Autumn Session 2015. Government Chief Whip Paul Kehoe stated that the Programme includes a number of Bills which are central to the Government’s plans to secure Ireland’s ongoing economic recovery including a Geothermal Energy Development Bill that aims to provide a legislative framework for the vesting, licensing and regulation of the development of geothermal energy.

According to a paper "Geothermal Energy Utilisation - Ireland Country Update" by Riccardo Pasquali, Alistair Allen, John Burgess, Gareth Ll. Jones, Taly Hunter Williams, presented at the World geothermal Congress 2015, the Geothermal Development Bill would define geothermal energy in Ireland and vests ownership of geothermal energy in the State, giving practical effect to the assertion of ownership of natural resources in the Constitution. The Bill would cover the exploration and development of deep geothermal energy resources in Ireland (excluding aspects such as district heating, market regulation and health and safety).

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