by robert clements,
NIHE centre of excellence, belfast
NIHE centre of excellence, belfast
Geothermal energy:
A new vision for heating homes across Northern Ireland
"It started with a conversation about heat. Not just any heat, heat from the ground beneath our feet."
Back in
early 2022, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) was deep into shaping
its Sustainable Development Strategy, with a bold vision to reach Net
Zero across all operations by 2050. As Northern Ireland’s strategic housing
authority, NIHE is responsible for assessing housing need, delivering social
housing, maintaining over 80,000 homes, and supporting communities across the
region. Our role brings together policy, planning, investment and innovation —
giving us both the responsibility and the opportunity to lead on low‑carbon
housing solutions. We knew that decarbonising our housing stock, most of which
still relies on oil and gas, was going to be one of the biggest challenges. But
also one of the biggest opportunities.
Around that time, discussions began to emerge about geothermal energy, a renewable source that’s been quietly powering and heating homes and buildings in other countries for decades. The idea was simple but powerful: could we tap into the Earth’s natural heat to warm our homes in Northern Ireland?
The conversation gained momentum when we were approached by colleagues from Geological Survey Ireland (GSNI) and Codema, who were assembling partners for a cross-border geothermal initiative under the PEACEPLUS Programme. The project aimed to demonstrate the viability of geothermal energy systems across the island of Ireland.
We were intrigued. The Housing Executive has long been committed to innovation in housing and sustainability, and this felt like a natural fit. We had the ambition, the strategy, and crucially, the right location: our Net Zero Centre of Excellence in Belfast, a hub for low-carbon technology and training.
From there, things moved quickly. We joined the consortium as a full partner, contributing to a €20 million demonstration and research programme alongside 14 other organisations. Our role? To install a comprehensive closed-loop geothermal installation, complete with vertical boreholes, horizontal slinky loops, and heat pumps in two test houses to be used for demonstration and training of tradespeople. We also committed to making the underground components visible and accessible, turning the site into a living classroom for staff, tenants and the wider community — because geothermal isn’t just about pipes and pumps: it’s about education, empowerment and behaviour change.
The other element NIHE will deliver is a deeper borehole to approximately 400m to provide additional geological data. This will help ground-truth recent studies at the surface across Belfast and provide more information to better estimate the geothermal resources at depth, such as rock type, temperature and permeability (i.e. how easily warm fluids can move through the rock layers).
We’re now well into the planning phase, with procurement and internal approvals moving at pace. And while there’s still a long road ahead, the journey so far has been energising — literally and figuratively
Geothermal may be the quiet sibling in the renewable energy family, but it’s time it had its moment. For NIHE, GEMINI is more than a project, it’s a statement of intent. We’re starting from the ground up, quite literally, to build a cleaner, warmer and more sustainable future.
