Ambitions to develop 130 anaerobic digestion (AD) biomethane plants in Ireland by 2030 have been unveiled at the Renewable Gas Forum Ireland (RGFI) 2022 biomethane conference in Dublin today. (Wednesday, November 9).
RGFI has set out its aim to achieve 2.5TWh of biomethane by 2030 and 9.5TWh by 2050 at the conference which has brought delegates from across Europe and the United States to discuss and debate the future for biomethane in Ireland.
Members of the RGFI believe the ambitious plan to develop 130 AD plants could create 3,000 jobs.
The conference has highlighted why the government’s recent agreement on Sectoral Emissions Ceilings – which set out on an objective to deliver up to 5.7TWh of biomethane by 2030 – to “further accelerate the reduction of overall economy-wide emissions” is crucial for the future of the biomethane sector in Ireland.
Following on from this last week the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, confirmed that the government had agreed to the introduction of an obligation on the heat sector to include renewable heat by 2024.
According to RGFI this will require 130 large scale AD plants to be developed within eight years and it has made a submission to government for €100 million capital funding to support this development until 2025.
PJ McCarthy, chief executive of RGFI, told conference delegates that the potential of Ireland to a be key player in biomethane production is well recognised, but it was now time to “get moving” on this.
He said the Food Vision Dairy Plan clearly sets out that AD can provide diversification opportunities for farmers and that by using agricultural feedstock on-farm AD, as well as dedicated waste fed plants there are clear pathways to delivering new renewable gas supplies.
The RGFI has welcomed the fact that the government has included biomethane in its Climate Action Plan and believes there is a strong acknowledgment of the role that biomethane can play in decarbonising industry.
The forum has brought together more than 30 speakers from Ireland, other European countries and the United States, where AD production is already well-advanced, who over the next two days will explore what the challenges are for biomethane and how these can be addressed.
The message from speakers today was that biomethane production can stimulate a wider bio economy and support farmers.
Harmen Dekker, chief executive of the European Biogas Association, said the sector was moving from “visualisation to mobilisation”.
Dekker said this is illustrated by the European Commission’s commitment to the Biomethane Industrial Partnership (BIP) which was announced in September.
This public-private partnership is working together to support the EC’s target to increase annual production and use of biomethane to 35 billion cubic metres by 2030.
Dekker believes that the European Union’s drive to reduce EU dependency on natural gas from Russia is helping to propel the potential of biomethane to the top of the energy agenda.
He said that biomethane offers new “energy security” options for EU countries including Ireland.