Bord na Móna has shelved plans to build a factory in the US state of Georgia to transform American crops into pellets and ship them to Ireland for use in power plants.

"Bord na Móna confirms it has conducted an assessment of its biomass supply chain and has confirmed its preference for Irish supplies. Following technical and commercial assessments the company has decided not to directly develop a US-based biomass pellet plant," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

In addition to 350,000t of biomass, such as willow already used to part-fuel its own Edenderry power station, Bord na Móna will supply the ESB's peat-fired stations Lough Ree and West Offaly Power as they incorporate renewable sources into their energy mix in 2020. This will bring Bord na Móna's biomass needs to 1.5m tonnes annually.

Criticism

The company had previously told the Irish Farmers Journal that it could not source these volumes commercially in Ireland, leading to its plans to build a pelleting plant in the US. The plan was met with considerable criticism from farming organisations and politicians across parties.

Bord na Móna is now confident it has identified supplies of sustainable biomass capable of meeting demand from the three Midlands power stations.

This does not mean all renewable fuels used from 2020 will be Irish-grown though.

"The considerable increase in volume will require imports to close the supply gap in the short to medium term," said Bord na Móna managing director Michael Barry.

A company spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal that Bord na Móna and the Department of Agriculture are working on proposed incentives to encourage Irish farmers to grow energy crops.

The change of strategy was announced days after the company appointed new chief executive, Tom Donnellan.

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