THE GOVERNMENT will be looking for value for money from the bioenergy sector but is supportive of it, the Minister for Agriculture has said.
Addressing “The Business of Bio-Energy” at ByrneWallace, Grand Canal Square, Dublin, Simon Coveney said reliance on fossil fuel was not sustainable and alternatives had to be found.
While the Renewable Energy Feed In Tariff for the electricity sector was the responsibility of Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte, he understood it had gone for EU ratification and had to be agreed in two months.
Mr Coveney said his department was examining the possibility of contracts with bioenergy companies which would ensure continuity of markets and an ability to raise capital.
The matter had been discussed at Cabinet and they could expect to hear more about it in the future.
The sector could provide thousands of environmentally friendly jobs, according to speakers at the conference.
ByrneWallace partner Seán Wallace said Ireland could aspire to at least building 1,000 small anaerobic digesters on farms where grass could be converted to biomethane. This was happening in Germany.
He said generating biogas from grass silage did not require the use of arable land and produced a green fuel that could be transported in the gas network and used in transport, such as buses, or to generate heat and electricity.
This would enable farmers to contribute towards Ireland’s renewable energy targets, while generating additional income from the sale of the feed stock and subsequent sale of bio-gas.
Ian Duffy, a partner at RSM Farrell Grant Sparks, said bioenergy was a dynamic, emerging sector with a dynamic mixture of entrepreneurs, emerging companies and existing operators.