Taoiseach Micheál Martin will officially open Gas Networks Ireland’s (GNI's) new €32 million central grid injection facility in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork today (Friday, October 2).

GNI said the new facility marks "a significant milestone" in the development of Ireland’s indigenous biomethane industry.

The facility will provide a new route for biomethane producers to supply renewable gas into the national gas network, and are located too far away to connect directly by pipeline.

The Cork facility has the capacity to receive renewable gas produced from farm and food waste, and is the first of its kind in both Ireland and Europe, GNI said.

Biomethane produced at independent anaerobic digestion facilities can be transported by trailer to Mitchelstown, where it can be prepared to the required standards and injected into the national gas network.

Once injected, the renewable gas can travel to customers through the existing gas pipeline network.

When operating at full capacity, the Mitchelstown facility has the potential to inject up to 700 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of biomethane annually, equivalent to about 12% of the government’s 2030 target of 5.7 terrawatt-hours (TWh) of domestic biomethane production, according to GNI.

The facility could also deliver an estimated 130,000t of CO2 emissions savings each year, GNI said.

The Mitchelstown facility is part of the broader Green Renewable Agricultural Zero Emissions (GRAZE) project, which is designed to showcase large scale agricultural biomethane clusters that can be replicated across the country.

The GRAZE project is supported by €8.4 million in funding from the Climate Action Fund.

The Irish biomethane sector is currently undergoing expansion and investment, and GNI has signed agreements to connect seven major new biomethane producers to its network, including the €35 million College Group biomethane plant in Co Meath and Bia Energy’s €90 million biomethane gas facility in Dublin.

Commenting on the new facility in Cork, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: "The opening of the Mitchelstown central grid injection facility is an important milestone in Ireland’s renewable energy journey and in the development of our indigenous biomethane industry.

"Ireland has set an ambitious target for biomethane production by 2030, and delivering the infrastructure to connect this renewable gas to our national network is a vital element in helping to achieve that goal," the Taoiseach added.

He said that the investment also has the potential to create new economic opportunities in the agriculture sector, by providing farmers and rural businesses with "opportunities to diversify their income while contributing to our climate and energy security objectives".

GNI CEO David Kelly commented: "What we are seeing is a growing appetite from prospective biomethane producers to develop homemade renewable gas and to bring it onto the national network.

"Our market engagement has shown us that the potential is significant, and biomethane also has the potential to create new revenue and diversification opportunities, by turning agricultural and organic resources into renewable energy," the GNI CEO added.