A NEW mobile GeoEnergy Discovery Centre has been launched at Stormont to help inform the public about harnessing the potential for geothermal energy in the north as a renewable energy source.
Funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE), the visitor centre was unveiled at the annual ‘Science and Stormont’ event organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry in Parliament Buildings.
School children and teachers from Holy Trinity Primary School in Belfast and Dundonald Primary School were also among the first to experience the centre and sample the interactive technologies.
The visitor centre is part of the GeoEnergy NI project being delivered by DfE with scientific support from the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI).
Its part of the effort to ‘unearth the heat beneath our feet’ in pursuit of the north's net zero carbon targets by 2050.
The project is currently examining the geothermal potential at the Stormont Estate, and CAFRE's Greenmount Campus in Antrim.
The GeoEnergy Discovery Centre is designed to encourage schools, families, businesses and community groups to learn about geothermal energy through a range of educational resources, including interactive technologies such as virtual reality software.
The centre which can be pre-booked by schools and groups, will also be open to the public from World Geothermal Energy Day on October 17, and will initially be based on the Stormont Estate during autumn 2023.
The centre will then take to the road to visit events and towns across Northern Ireland as part of an information road show.
“The GeoEnergy NI project has been making great progress since it was launched, and we are excited to now unveil a key project asset which will help showcase the potential that geothermal energy offers Northern Ireland as an important part of our future energy mix," said Ryan White, director of heat, buildings and climate change at DfE.
Marie Cowan, Director of GSNI, added; “Geothermal is a reliable, low carbon, renewable energy resource that occurs naturally within the Earth, and brings with it a host of environmental, economic, and social benefits.
"Our research shows that despite having favourable geology conditions for geothermal in Northern Ireland, it is still a relatively little-known or utilised energy source here.
"Through both data gathering and analysis, as well as public information and education, we believe GeoEnergy NI has the potential to be a catalyst for growth in the geothermal sector.
"We believe it can encourage future private sector investment in this important technology and the skills necessary to harness it across Northern Ireland.”
Groups can now register their interest in visiting the GeoEnergy Discovery Centre on the project website – www.geoenergyni.org/contact-us/.
Group visits will be supplemented with open access at the weekends and during the Halloween mid-term break.
