To ask the Minister of Finance to detail any steps his Department can take to assist Northern Irelands transition away from its dependence on fossil fuels through; (i) reducing carbon emissions; and (b) increasing the use of renewable energy, across the Northern Ireland Civil Service estate.

The Department of Finance (DoF) office estate represents less than 1% of the built assets recorded on the Government Land and Property Register and, as such, has a minimal impact on the total public sector energy usage. That said, I am determined that my Department does everything possible to reduce carbon emissions and increase the use of renewable energy across the estate.

DoF is currently progressing an ambitious Office Estate Strategy, Phase 1 of which is aimed at ‘right sizing’ our portfolio by reducing the in-scope footprint by approximately 40% by 2028. Up to the 31 March 2024, energy consumption across the estate had been reduced by 12,287,443 kWh.

Phase 2 of the Strategy aims to deliver a greener, modern NICS Office Estate by 2035. This will be achieved through improved energy efficiency in our retained estate and establishing signature regional buildings to enable staff to work in offices closer to home, reducing travel time and associated emissions, while helping promote regional balance.

In addition, a number of projects have also been initiated that aim to reduce carbon emissions. LED lighting has been installed in many buildings across the estate, which use significantly less energy and has a longer lifespan. In April 2025, the natural gas powered plant used for heating/cooling in Lanyon Plaza, one of our larger buildings, were replaced with electrically driven units.

Consolidation projects in Omagh, Ballymena and the Coleraine areas are also aligned with the Departments net zero ambitions which will involve recovering roofs, replacing windows, upgrading the mechanical and electrical systems as well as lining exterior walls all of which will improve the ‘U’ value, a measure of how well a material or building component (like a wall, window, or roof) insulates against heat loss, making the buildings more energy efficient.

On the Stormont Estate, procurement is underway to deliver a 400kVA photovoltaic installation by 2027, which will provide renewable energy to the DoF managed buildings. At Castle Buildings, a refurbishment project is ongoing that will include the replacement of the roof at Block B with enhanced insulation to meet net zero standards. Work has also been initiated to investigate and develop options to upgrade both the Castle Buildings exterior “envelope” and systems, to move to net zero standards.

My Department is also commencing the procurement of a carbon baselining exercise for the retained Office Estate. This will help inform and enable additional efficiency projects with a view to further reducing energy usage and de-carbonising our offices.

For the longer term, my Department has been supporting the Department for the Economy in a pilot project to investigate the potential future application of shallow geothermal technology to provide sustainable low carbon renewable heating and cooling systems. It is hoped that this will inform the potential for a future geothermal heat network to replace fossil fuel heating systems at some buildings on the Stormont Estate, as well as helping to reduce and stabilise our energy costs. This work will also improve our understanding of the contribution that geothermal energy might make in decarbonising how we heat our buildings generally and help inform future projects in the public and private sectors and in domestic settings.