Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The draft bioenergy plan was published in October and will undergo strategic environmental and appropriate assessments which will inform the content of the finalised plan. These assessment processes will commence shortly.

The draft plan sets out the broader context for the development of the biomass sector, as well as the current status with regard to the range of policy areas that must be co-ordinated to create the conditions necessary to support the development of this sector. The REFIT, renewable energy feed in tariff, schemes are the primary means through which electricity from a range of renewable sources is supported. In this regard, electricity from biomass, including co-firing with peat, is already supported through REFIT. The draft bioenergy plan recommends the continuation of REFIT for electricity generated from biomass and that the scheme would be kept under review to assess the most cost-effective way to support co-firing of biomass with peat.

The choice of technology is, however, ultimately a commercial decision for individual project developers and the fuel used at the Moneypoint plant is a matter for the operator. The Minister has no role or function in this regard. Notwithstanding this, there are several important issues that would demand further consideration before biomass could be used at Moneypoint. The conversion of Moneypoint to biomass would require significant levels of capital investment by the operator. Support tariffs substantially higher than those available for wind, the most cost-effective renewable technology in the electricity market, would also be required which could lead to increased electricity prices. Substantially more biomass than is available domestically would be required with large amounts of the resource having to be imported leading to uncertainty in security of supply. The sustainability of transporting large amounts of imported biomass would also be a cause for concern. The commitment of substantial amounts of biomass to Moneypoint would divert scarce biomass away from the renewable heat sector where biomass can be used more efficiently and where fewer alternative technologies exist.

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