While a senior civil servant confirmed expected Government support schemes for renewable heat and electricity expected for the coming 18 months were progressing through the national and EU regulatory process, buy-in from the private sector including agribusiness was evident at the event organised by the Irish BioEnergy Association in Croke Park.Listen to an interview with Irish Bioenergy Association chief executive Ger Devlin in our podcast below:
While a senior civil servant confirmed expected Government support schemes for renewable heat and electricity expected for the coming 18 months were progressing through the national and EU regulatory process, buy-in from the private sector including agribusiness was evident at the event organised by the Irish BioEnergy Association in Croke Park.
Listen to an interview with Irish Bioenergy Association chief executive Ger Devlin in our podcast below:
ABP Food Group's sustainability manager John Durkan detailed the company's involvement in renewable energy in the UK, including the recent redevelopment of its Ellesmere factory where animal fat and used cooking oil is collected by its subsidiary Olleco now produce all heat and 70% of electricity requirements.
We're looking at the opportunity of using gas in some of our trucks
Dairygold's head of sustainability Dave Fitzgerald said that his co-op was planning to increase the share of renewables in the gas supply it already uses to dry milk and produce electricity at its plants.
"The exisiting gas infrastructure is where we see the future," Fitzgerald said. "We're looking at the opportunity of using gas in some of our trucks. It's more cost-effective as well," he added.
While Dairygold already produces biogas by processing waste from its Mitchelstown factory with an anaerobic digester, the co-op will need more and is planning to get it from farms in the future.
Lawyers and financiers
A participant to the conference told the Irish Farmers Journal that the event attracted more financiers and lawyers than previous years – a sign that the industry is becoming more attractive to investors.
One of them was Garrett Monaghan, a partner in the Dublin-based law firm DWF which helps put together renewable energy projects.
"Bioenergy, and specifically biogas, should play a greater role in Ireland's electricity supply," he said, highlighting the planned growth in population, economic activity and electrification of sectors such as transport.
Monaghan cited data centres such as Google's and Apple's as large consumers of certified green electricity and said that direct power purchase agreements with such big private buyers would present opportunities until Government schemes were in place to support wider distribution of renewable energy.
Patrick Madigan, head of Bord na Móna Bioenergy, was more cautious, calling for full clarity around the upcoming Support for Sustainable Renewable Heat and for a separate grant scheme for farmers.
"Farmers and landowners are struggling with the idea of investing in willow and energy crops," Madigan said.
Read more on the conference and the debacle surrounding past schemes to support energy crops in this Thursday's Irish Farmers Journal.
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