Oireachtas agri committee to discuss AD in this week's meeting
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food will discuss anaerobic digestion (AD) with a number of stakeholders in this week's meeting.
The joint committee will meet on Wednesday (October 15) at 3:30p.m in Committee Room 4 at Leinster House.
The meeting will hear from the Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA), Nephin Renewable Gas, and farmer Brendan Gildea, who has installed a biogas plant on his dairy farm in Co. Galway.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, chairperson of the committee and Cork North-West TD Aindrias Moynihan said: "We look at anaerobic digestion with the first in a series of meetings on Wednesday.
"We see anaerobic digestion is gaining momentum in Irish agriculture, offering a sustainable way to manage slurry while generating renewable energy," he added.
"This process involves breaking down organic materials like manure, food waste and agricultural residues in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas, a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide," the Fianna Fáil TD said.
"The practice can help Irish farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions and in turn, support our climate goals and provide farmers with additional income streams through energy production and fertiliser sales.
"With guidelines and with further government support and initiatives our committee hopes anaerobic digestion can play a part in Ireland's renewable energy strategy, improving sustainable agriculture and reducing waste," Moynihan said.
The meeting can be viewed on the Oireachtas TV website.
Galway biogas plant
One of the speakers set to appear at the committee, Brendan Gildea, recently showcased his on-farm biogas plant in Dunmore, Co. Galway.
It is thought that the energy created by the biogas plant on the dairy farm will replace €30,000 worth of purchased energy each year.
Earlier in the month he opened his farm so industry stakeholders could come and see the plant and equipment he had installed.
The biogas plant at his Riverview Farm was built with a 50% capital grant, provided as part of the recently completed European Innovation partnership programme (EIP AGRI) Small Biogas Demonstration Project (SBDP), set up to develop farm scale biogas plants in Ireland with assistance from the Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA).
A 49kW biogas plant (4,000t feedstock input) was designed and installed by Tank Storage Systems Ltd., Kildare. The tank has been generating 24-28kW since it was commissioned a few months ago to meet onsite needs, but has the potential to do more.
