Organised jointly by Sustainable Energy Ireland, Teagasc and COFORD close to 30,000 people attended Famfest & Bioenergy 2008 at the Teagasc Mellows Centre, Athenry, Co Galway in June.  

Bathed in sunshine the huge crowd browsed a wide range of exhibits with the indoor and outdoor bioenergy arena proving one of most popular attractions on the day. Bioenergy 2008 provided visitors with a holistic overview of the energy and bioenergy sector offering visitors a rare excursion into the modern world of wood energy.  Escalating fuel prices, concerns over security of supply and the physical vulnerability of 21^st century energy sources have directed attention to modern renewable energy technologies with bioenergy and in particular refined wood fuels coming very much to the fore.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with responsibility for fisheries and forestry, Mr. Tony Killeen T.D., opened the 'Bioenergy 2008' event. He said:

"With oil and other fossil fuels at record price levels, the need for alternative home produced, secure sources of energy is becoming more important all the time and added: The good news is that there are many potential alternative and climate-friendly renewable sources of energy that we can exploit. The key words here are 'renewable' and 'climate-friendly'. Bioenergy, which is a clean, renewable, source of energy, is one way of responding to this challenge "
Speaking in relation to forestry, one of his areas of responsibility within the Department of Agriculture, Mr. Killeen expressed his views on the importance and benefits of forestry for farmers and the community in general, stating the current forestry programme creates the opportunity for a major transformation in Irish farming, which can underpin the long -term economic viability of many holding and pointed out that forestry can create employment, often in remote rural areas where opportunities are limited.

The Minister of state also announced a contribution from the Government to the supply chain of wood biomass stating that almost €50,000 in grants have been given out to purchase two new wood biomass harvesting machines. Mr. Killeen added that his department is also promoting the alternative land use of energy crops saying 'We believe this area can provide a new source of income for farmers and other landowner"

He concluded by saying that he welcomed the 'Bioenergy 2008' event as it provided an opportunity to get a better understanding of what bioenergy means and how it can benefit us all.

Bioenergy 2008 provided a very attractive marketplace for suppliers, installers, manufacturers and buyers of products, equipment, service technology, fuel and technology know-how within the Irish and international bioenergy sector and unlike most other events it integrated a professional technology and product exhibition with free workshops and practical field demonstrations. The indoor and outdoor exhibition's provided visitors with access to the very latest in product and service innovation and the ample outdoor space made it possible to showcase and demonstrate many pieces of machinery and equipment such as pellet stoves and boilers, commercial wood pellet/chip boilers, gasifiers, chippers, and residue bundlers to name but a few.

A series of free workshops and demonstrations offered visitor's the chance to discover more about the various wood fuels and their manufacturing processes - with sessions on the day that focused on:

*           Energy from forests

*           Growing and harvesting willow

*           Energy from agriculture - growing dedicated energy crops for example miscanthus

*           Small scale pellet production

*           Wood chip production

*           Quality fire wood production

*           Large and medium scale pellet/chip use

*           Anaerobic Digestion

*           And so much more

The feedback from visitors and exhibitors alike was extremely positive, the call for a two-day Bioenergy 2009 was loud and clear. Watch this space for updates.   

Forthcoming event: As part of the ongoing promotion of wood energy SEI, COFORD and Teagasc are presenting Wood Energy - Fuelling YOUR Future on Wednesday 10 September.  For further details http://www.sei.ie/

Donna Maskery with Fred Tottingham at Farmfest