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Some 60,000t of straw will be required from next year’s harvest to help power a proposed Bord na Móna biomass plant north Co Offaly.
Around 1.1m tonnes of straw is produced annually in Ireland.
As revealed on www.farmersjournal.ie over the weekend, the facility will process raw biomass sources from managed forestry and sawmills into a refined solid biofuel for commercial and domestic use.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Tom Short, former Wicklow IFA county chair, said that the plant will burn 100,000t of biomass a year, 60% of which will be straw.
The IFA’s grain committee yesterday heard the proposals for a biomass facility to be supplied by farmers on a 15-year contract.
It is hoped that 50 farmers will be supplying the plant, with straw being sourced from farmers not more than 100 miles from the facility.
Farmers will receive €60 per tonne of straw at 14% moisture, which Shortt said is below average but it’s for all straw, oilseed rape, oaten, wheaten or barley – any straw. It is hoped that it will put a floor under the volatile straw market.
“There will be staggered payments for farmers who supply straw.
“Some 20% of payments will be made in the summer, 30% at harvest and 50% on delivery, which will be year-round.”
Storage
Sheds will be required on farms to store 50,000t, Shortt added.
“The company, Bord na Móna, will finance capital for the sheds and farmers will repay them.
“The nitty gritty of the repayment costs haven’t been sorted out yet.”
Tillage farmers occupy Department offices
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