The government of Ireland is being urged to “move quickly” to secure support from the EU to establish a “viable biomethane and biofertiliser sector”.

Pat Smith, managing director of renewable energy company Local Power, said that it was “critical” that Ireland secure funds from the European Commission’s new ‘REPowerEU’ initiative to support the establishment of a biomethane industry here.

Speaking this morning (Wednesday, March 30) Smith argued: “The current energy crisis is a wake-up call for large energy-importing member states such as Ireland.

“It is no longer tenable that we are one of the few countries in Europe that still does not have a sustainable biomethane industry.”

According to Smith, EU capital grant supports would be on offer for biomethane plants through the funding programme.

Earlier this month, the commission announced plans to double the planned production of biomethane by 2030 in order to reduce the reliance on gas from Russia.

As part of that plan, the commission published a communication on a joint action for “more affordable, secure and sustainable energy”, which included proposals to increase biomethane production capacity in Europe to 370 terawatt hours (TWh) per year.

“A biomethane and biofertiliser industry in Ireland would reduce our dependency on imported gas and fertilisers and help Ireland and our farming community deal with very challenging environmental and climate action targets,” Smith added.

Smith suggested that a substantial, once-off capital grant from the government would allow the sector to develop more quickly.

“Ireland, more than any other country in Europe, needs to move quickly and ensure that we fully participate in the REPowerEU initiative and secure as much funding as possible to assist in the development of a sustainable biomethane and biofertiliser sector,” he argued.

The European Commission aims to double the biomethane production objective of the ‘Fit for 55’ plan – the EU plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 – which would lead to the creation of 35 billion cubic metres of biomethane per year by that year (the current plan envisages 17 billion cubic metres per year).

In order to achieve this, the commission says that EU member states’ CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) Strategic Plans should channel funding to biomethane production produced from biomass sources, including agricultural wastes and residues in particular.