Mr. Tim Cullinan:

Scaling up the production of sustainable biomethane to 35 billion cu. m by 2030 is a key element of the plan. To increase the capacity of biogas production in the EU and promote its conversion into biomethane, it is estimated that an investment of €37 billion is needed over the period to 2030. This investment will enable the introduction of measures to address the main barriers to increase sustainable biomethane production and provide additional incentives for establishing biogas and biomethane partnerships to stimulate the renewable gas production.

AD and biogas production has been identified in the EU methane strategy as a cost-effective method to reduce methane emissions from agriculture and waste sectors, while simultaneously generating an additional revenue stream for farmers as well as an opportunity for development and investment in rural areas. Reducing methane emissions in agriculture is essential to reaching our 2030 climate targets and the 2050 climate neutrality goal. Agricultural emissions stand at 37%, with methane emissions accounting for over 60% of these emissions. The strategy recommends that to achieve deployment of AD, co-operation with and among farmers and local communities is vital. Further incentives will be required to support the collection and use of organic manures as well as the use of digestate as a sustainable organic fertiliser.

If the Government wishes to employ the immense potential of AD to reduce emissions, efficiently returning nutrients back to the land and producing sustainable indigenous biogas, while reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture, the barriers to adoption need to be removed. Ireland lags well behind our European neighbours in biomethane production, and urgent action is required to incentivise and support farmers and rural communities to deploy the technology in order to reduce emissions and support Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon energy system.

AD technology involves significant capital investment, and substantial ongoing operating costs. Therefore, if the potential offered by AD is to be realised the following key policy requirements need to be addressed. We must develop a national biomethane strategy so that farmers have confidence to invest in AD. We must introduce a renewable heat obligation scheme with attractive subsidies as soon as possible to support the wide-scale deployment of AD production.

This will give greater certainty and security of revenue for farmer-led projects. We must provide capital grant funding to support the adopted national biomethane strategy and meet the climate targets. We must also introduce a biomass mobilisation scheme to support farmers to co-ordinate, mobilise and establish a sustainable feedstock supply chain for the AD plant. In addition, we must streamline current regulations to support the development of AD plants, especially small scale on-farm AD plants.