Minister of Agriculture Charlie McConalogue is confident that the anaerobic digestion (AD) industry will develop in Ireland.

He made the comments when addressing this week’s RGFI Irish Biomethane Conference.

He said that, currently in Ireland, 12 AD plants are registered with his Department.

However, in order to reach the Government’s target of 5.7TWh of biomethane by 2030, over 200 plants will need to be developed.

Emission reduction

Embedded in the 25% emissions reduction target in agriculture is the role that the sector can play in the development of the AD sector, he said.

The Minister reiterated the support he committed to the sector from diverting carbon tax funds and funds from the national development plan to capital support for the sector.

However, he acknowledged that further support in terms of capital funding will be needed to develop the sector.