Seán Finan Talks to Agriland About Irish Bioenergy Association and the Potential for Biogas

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Calls are mounting for a biogas industry to be rolled out nationwide in a bid to bolster farm incomes and reduce Ireland’s agricultural carbon footprint. This week sees episode 15 of Farmland, Seán Finan, the CEO of the Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) urges the Government to develop policy and financial supports to bolster the sector. IrBEA believes a biogas  industry could sustain rural economies into the future. He talks in details about IRBEA role in developing the bioenergy sector in the Island of Ireland both north and south, he also focuses on the imminent launch of the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat. View this 15 minute interview covering a wide range of topics between Claire McCormack and  Seán Finan here

IrBEA Submission to National Energy and Climate Plan Consultation

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Members can find the IrBEA submission to the National Energy and Climate Plan Consultation here. We would like to thank all the members who provided feedback for inclusion in the document. If any member has any queries on any aspect of the submission please feel free to contact Seán Finan at seanfinan@irbea.org

Report from Biochar & Activated Carbon Conference

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The Irish BioEnergy Association (IrBEA) and the Western Development Commission (WDC) are the Irish partners in the Interreg North West European project called RE-DIRECT . This project  supports turning waste, low value or residual biomass into high value carbon products such as Biochar and Activated Carbon.
As part of the project, IrBEA and the WDC hosted a conference recently in Claremorris around the areas of biochar and activated carbon and the potential they could hold for the region. The event brought 70 attendees from around Ireland and across Europe including international experts as well as regional and national stakeholders. Sean Finan, CEO of the Irish Bioenergy Association said, ‘we want to highlight the potential that biochar holds for agriculture, how an indigenous source of activated carbon could help improve our water quality as well as how biomass can be utilised for carbon sequestration and energy purposes.’
The vision is to establish regional hubs where biomass from the surrounding areas can be converted into biochar or activated carbon. These are charcoal-like materials that are very porous with large internal surface areas and a high capacity to absorb contaminants. This makes them useful for a wide variety of applications ranging from waste water treatment to soil amendment and remediation, to gas cleaning. The innovative pyrolysis technology used can also produce a clean renewable fuel.
Press from the Event – Turning Low Value Biomass into High Value Activated Carbon
The 11 project partners from RE-DIRECT are from Belgium, UK, France, Wales, Germany and Ireland. This technology has been developed at a pilot site at the Baden-Baden City’s Environmental Division in Germany and under this project a 20,000 t/year plant will be built to assist the filtration of the municipal water. In Wales last week a IFBB (integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass) plant has arrived from Scotland and delivered to our Welsh Partners at Cwn Harry Trust to be installed on their farm site.

Danish Bioenergy Delegation hosted in Ireland by Danish Embassy, IrBEA & 3CEA

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IrBEA along with Deloitte invited personnel from the Bioenergy sector to an early morning breakfast briefing recently. Participants received information on funding opportunities for research and also funding for renewable energy project developments. Speakers included Pat Martin – Department of Communications Climate Action & Environment who talked about the Life Funding Programme,   Brian McDonnell from Deloitte discussed the primary RD&I funding available in Ireland including tax incentives and grants and Joanne Sheehan from Enterprise Ireland  also spoke and focused on  Enterprise Ireland funding opportunities. This event was well attended and was useful to companies planning or involved in innovative projects who wished to learn more about potential research and development funding options and efficient taxation management.  The presentations can be viewed here

IrBEA Continues to Lobby for the Opening of the Full SSRH Scheme

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IrBEA CEO Seán Finan recently met informally with the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton T.D. He briefed the Minister on the work of IrBEA and the urgent need to fully open the SSRH scheme. This informal meeting following a formal meeting on the SSRH scheme which took place recently between IrBEA and senior officials from the Heat policy division within the Department of Communication, Climate Action and Environment. This meeting was attended by Sean Finan CEO, Des O’Toole President and Paddy Phelan Vice President. The Department confirmed at the meeting that they expect to open the full SSRH scheme by the end of the year. IrBEA continues to lobby at all levels for the full opening of the SSRH scheme.

Presentations from Bioenergy Funding Breakfast Briefing

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IrBEA along with Deloitte invited personnel from the Bioenergy sector to an early morning breakfast briefing recently. Participants received information on funding opportunities for research and also funding for renewable energy project developments. Speakers included Pat Martin – Department of Communications Climate Action & Environment who talked about the Life Funding Programme,   Brian McDonnell from Deloitte discussed the primary RD&I funding available in Ireland including tax incentives and grants and Joanne Sheehan from Enterprise Ireland  also spoke and focused on  Enterprise Ireland funding opportunities. This event was well attended and was useful to companies planning or involved in innovative projects who wished to learn more about potential research and development funding options and efficient taxation management.  The presentations can be viewed here

County Wexford Leads the way in Utilising Wood Energy

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Members can read an interesting report by Donal Magner in the Farmers Journal on IrBEA’s recent field-trip to Wexford to view industries in the area who switched their energy needs from oil to wood. From this report, we we can see that the switch to biomass has been successful for these businesses both from an economic and an environmental perspective. At Horeswood depot in Campile, Co Wexford Matt Wallace has managed to reduce his annual energy bill from €600,000 to €350,000. A major factor in the success of these business is  guaranteeing security of local supply and the creation of wood supply depots. On the trip we visited,  Clonroche Biomass Supply Depot, the largest depot in the country supplying 30,000m3 . Read more about this IRBEA tour here

PRESS RELEASE: IrBEA Welcomes Statement from Minister Richard Bruton T.D. on the Potential for Renewable Energy

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PRESS RELEASE
Bioenergy sector offers unlimited potential in addressing climate change challenges – IrBEA

The Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) released a press release this week welcoming the statement made on Climate Change by Minister for Communication, Climate Change and Environment Richard Bruton T.D. but are disappointed that it lacks specifics and a focus on the potential for renewable energy in addressing climate change. Climate action is not only a challenge but also a considerable opportunity for Ireland to become a leader in this space. We are in real danger of losing our green image with the  lack of action over the past 15 years.  Many long term plans and targets have been set for 2008, 2012, 2015, 2020, 2030 and now 2040. IrBEA empowers Minister Bruton to show progress on  emissions targets within his own ministerial timeframe. 
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Press Release Representing Renewable Energy Associations of Ireland

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Eight organisations representing renewable energy in Ireland united today to call on Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten TD to set a target to supply 70 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2030.

In June 2018 the European Union agreed that 32 per cent of the EU’s energy – across electricity, heat and transport – will come from renewables by 2030. Ireland’s share of that target will be negotiated with the EU in the coming months.

A comprehensive report from leading energy and utilities experts Baringa says it is technically possible and cost neutral to the consumer for Ireland to use renewable energy to supply 70 per cent of our electricity by 2030, which would go a long way towards reaching the EU target. A summary of the report can be found here.

It follows confirmation from the Climate Change Advisory Council in July that Ireland will miss its overall 2020 target for renewable energy, warnings from the Environmental Protection Agency highlighting the failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and comes as the International Panel on Climate Change meets in Korea.

In September the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action began meeting to respond to the calls from the Citizens’ Assembly earlier this year for Ireland to become a leader in tackling climate change.

Currently, approximately 30 per cent of Irish electricity comes from renewables and while Ireland will fall short of its overall 2020 target it is expected to still reach its 40 per cent electricity target.  

           Speakers: Dr John Fitzgerald (Climate Change Advisory Council), Des O’Toole (IrBEA President),

Marie Donnelly (Former Directorate General for Energy), Michael McCarthy (CEO of ISEA), Dr David Connolly (CEO of IWEA)

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