In a bid to combat excessive oil consumption, the Faroe Islands have set a goal of producing their entire electrical energy needs from renewable sources by 2030.

One of the measures being explored to achieve this target is to replace oil burners with ground source heat pumps. The ambition is to obtain ground source heat for half of all heated houses on the Faroe Islands by 2025 which could accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy. 

Ground source heat pumps provide a clean and energy efficient means to heat buildings, significantly reducing carbon emissions. These central heating/cooling devices are designed to transfer heat through a network of underground pipes, making them one of the most sustainable heating/cooling systems on the market, requiring minimal energy which can be produced from renewable sources. 

In order to encourage the uptake of heat pumps in the Faroe Islands, the Faroese Government introduced a tax incentive, enabling home owners to reclaim any VAT accrued on the purchase of heat pumps. 

Heat pumps are a great low-carbon heating solution but they do require electricity to operate but when combined with solar panels, homes can achieve net-zero. 

SMARTrenew Faroese partner, Umhvørvisstovan - Environment Agency, will pilot the use of heat pumps through borehole thermal energy storage combined with water storage with the objective of further encouraging the uptake of heat pumps across the Faroe Islands and Northern Periphery and Arctic Area.