A new malting plant is to be built at Newstown, Ardattin, Tullow, Co Carlow.
The plant, which will take in 25,000t of Irish grain annually, is to be the first malting company in the world to be certified with zero carbon emissions.
The plant should offer farmers another point of sale for their barley, which will deliver a premium price.
The planning application was submitted by Thornhill Agri and conditional planning permission was granted on 14 September by Carlow County Council.
Development
The development includes planning permission for the construction of two grain stores, two modular malting units, a storage shed to house two water infiltration units and four stainless steel cylindrical water storage tanks and three silos with concrete aprons. There is already a grain storage facility on the site.
The development will be welcomed by many in the industry who have said that more competition is needed in malting at present, with just two big players in the market in Ireland - Boortmalt, the largest malting company in the world, and the Malting Company of Ireland.
There are a number of small-scale maltsters as well.
At the inaugural Irish drinks forum held in Athenry this week, comments were made on how there was room for another maltster in Ireland.
Innovative development
The development is powering ahead with innovation. The environmental impact assessment says that: “A heat pump will be powered by 100% green electricity”, which means no gas will be needed.
The assessment also states that an integrated system for the conditioning of steep water - Optisteep - will allow water from the malting plant to be recycled multiple times saving 70% of the plants overall water consumption. This means that there will be no wastewater on site.