Waterford City and County Council has appointed Wain Morehead Architects to lead the design team for extensive energy upgrades at its Civic Offices in Dungarvan, Co Waterford.

Selected following a competitive procurement process, the project is scheduled to begin in summer 2027 and will deliver full decarbonisation of the building. Oil-fired heating will be removed and replaced with air/water-source heat pumps.

The upgrade will also include new windows, ventilation improvements, enhanced insulation, upgrades to the building control system and the installation of a solar PV array.

The works are being part-funded by Waterford City and County Council and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) under the Pathfinder programme.

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SEAI's Pathfinder programme provides capital support to public bodies to drive a step-change in energy efficiency and decarbonisation, prioritising projects that cut greenhouse gas emissions rather than focusing solely on energy demand reduction.

At the contract signing, Ned Brennan, Waterford City and County Council's Director of Services for Environment, Climate Action, Libraries, Arts, Culture and Emergency Services, said the Dungarvan scheme will help the Council meet its 2030 targets to reduce CO2 emissions by 51% and energy consumption by 50%.

Ned Brennan said: "The upgrade works is an exemplar project, which showcases the innovative renewable and energy efficient technologies that are now available as direct replacements to fossil fuels.  The Council is also decarbonising the remainder of its buildings, with all fossil fuels being removed for heating and hot water purposes by 2030."

He added that, once the Dungarvan Civic Offices project is complete, the local authority will no longer consume oil for heating across its buildings, with the removal of natural gas and LPG from all remaining Council-owned, non-domestic sites to follow soon after.