Greengate Biogas seeks cattle breeders for collaboration
A number of new biogas plants are planned in Ireland. Leading the development in the area of biogas production in the country is the Greengate Biogas Association. Cattle manure is to be used as feedstock for the new biogas plants. This is why more than 2,000 cattle farmers are being sought to supply manure for biogas production. Greengate Biogas, an initiative of global renewable energy leader Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is bringing together biogas experts to develop, build and operate biogas plants in Ireland. It is intended that the new Irish biogas plants will produce 1.8 TWh of biomethane per year, an amount that could be used to heat more than 160,000 households or meet 20% of the country’s industrial gas needs.
Benefits of new biogas plants
The Greengate Biogas plants are expected to produce biomethane equivalent to 3.5 per cent of Ireland’s current natural gas demand and 30 per cent of the 2030 biomethane production target. An additional benefit will be the recirculation of organic fertiliser to farmers, encouraging a closed loop economy and green transition. The production of biogas is also an important step towards meeting the European Nitrates Directive’s objectives of clean water associated with nitrate pollution from fertilisers. Ireland currently enjoys a derogation from the Nitrates Directive, but this derogation may not be extended next year. The answer may lie precisely in the implementation of anaerobic digestion to better manage the fertilisers used in Irish agriculture. The creation of new biogas plants will also create new jobs and investment in the agricultural economy and reduce CO2 emissions.
