The government’s new National Biomethane Strategy must include a minimum of 50% in capital funding, according to Renewable Gas Forum Ireland (RGFI).
RGFI members were briefed last night (Monday, December 4) by officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, (DAFM) and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) who are developing the strategy.
Under the Climate Action Plan, the government has set a target to expand the indigenous biomethane sector through anaerobic digestion (AD) reaching up to 5.7TWh of biomethane by 2030.
The National Biomethane Strategy is expected to be approved by government in coming weeks.
Biomethane
RGFI said that Ireland is a “laggard” when it comes to biomethane and its members have “a powerful ambition to meet the pent up demand from industry”.
The group said that it is looking forward to working with government to “ensure a sustainable and resilient biomethane and circular bioeconomy industry is developed”.
However, RGFI believes that to deliver this in a meaningful way the following four essential ingredients will be required:
- A minimum 50% capital funding is a basic requirement;
- A level playing field to ensure that the biomethane is available to the indigenous sectors most in need who may not be able to compete for it on the open market;
- Low cost finance – high interest rates impact on cost of production;
- A clear framework addressing regulation, planning, and approvals.
JP Prendergast, chair of RGFI said that “biomethane should be directed to those sectors with most economic impact, with high thermal energy use, and where it will have most impact in achieving substantial decarbonisation benefits”.
Food Vision 2030, Ireland’s national food strategy, aims to position the country as a leader in sustainable food systems.
“The reality is that to achieve this, our indigenous agri-food companies need competitive and sustainable solutions.
“As our largest indigenous industry, this difficult-to-decarbonise, but relatively lower margin sector , must be able to compete and secure biomethane on the open market,” Prendergast said.
RGFI is advising its members, who include industrial gas consumers in the manufacturing and processing sectors; AD developers/operators; farmers; community organisations, public agencies, shippers, and academics, to be prepared to move quickly once the new strategy is published.
Last night’s meeting also heard about the significant level of market activity in the development of AD biomethane plants.
Paul Murphy, chief executive of Climeaction, highlighted the urgency of developing an industry at scale to meet demand from industry.