Plans to develop an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility to generate biomethane gas and bio-fertiliser have taken a major step forward recently with full planning permission granted by Meath County Council for a four-megawatt (MW) plant at Carnaross, Kells, Co. Meath.
The development, promoted by renewable energy company Local Power Ltd., and a number of local farmers, aims to use agri-based feed stocks to power the plant.
The AD plant is expected to utilise farm slurries, chicken litter and up to 3,000ac of grass/maize silage annually. At full production, it will generate over 40,000,000kw of gas/year which will be piped directly to the nearby Gas Networks grid for distribution.
The plant is also expected to generate close to 60,000t of nutrient-rich digestate which can be recycled to grow the silage required or converted to a dried bio-fertiliser product in the facility for export.
Managing director of Local Power Ltd., Pat Smith, said that key to making agri-based biomethane facilities viable is government support which he was confident was being progressed actively at this time.
He said a once-off capital grant coupled with direct farmer support for growing crops for such facilities need to be now prioritised and introduced.
Smith said that agri-based biomethane facilities had huge benefits for all stakeholders and that he was confident that this project and other large-scale facilities across the country would be commercially viable.
He said, that this facility will assist the agri-sector to decarbonise and meet the country’s climate targets.
For farmers specifically, the Carnaross plant aims to present the opportunity for growing crops and generating a more stable and sustainable income stream for their business.
It also aims to help farmers reduce the amount of imported fertiliser and, for those farmers facing increasing environmental limitations due to nitrates regulations, bringing slurry to the plant may be a less costly and more sustainable solution.