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Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) has secured €8m from the Government’s €500m Climate Action Fund for its renewable gas project in Mitchelstown, Co Cork.
GNI innovation manager Ian Kilgallon told the Irish Farmers Journal that the planned injection point into the national grid would take gas from up to 20 farm-based anaerobic digesters (ADs) in a 50km radius. One is at the planning permission stage and four others in pre-planning.
“This model will be similar to that used by dairy co-ops – gas will be transported by road, in special tankers,” GNI said.
Mitchelstown was chosen because of the wide availability of slurry, food and farm waste in the area. The project also targets to purchase up to 5% of the grass silage available in its catchment. Kilgallon expects the injection point to go to planning next year and begin operation in 2020.
A smaller test site is due to open in Cush, Co Kildare, before Christmas.
Conversion
GNI will also build two gas filling stations and support the conversion of 74 lorries from diesel to gas, bringing the total investment in this phase of the project to €29m.
If successful, GNI plans to roll out 17 similar injection points and collection services around the country, with demand for up to 10m tonnes of grass silage annually.
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