Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the policy he is pursuing in relation anaerobic digestion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14828/13]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a natural process involving the decomposition of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. The biogas that is produced can be used to generate electricity, provide heat or can be used as a biofuel in the transport sector. Biogas can also be upgraded by removing impurities to create biomethane, a direct substitute for Natural Gas, which can be injected directly into the natural gas network.

The REFIT scheme for biomass (REFIT3), which was opened in February 2012, is designed to incentivise the addition of 310 Megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity capacity from bioenergy to the Irish electricity grid. A number of technologies are being supported by REFIT3 including anaerobic digestion with 50 MW allocated for AD technologies. These technologies include Combined Heat and Power (CHP) where the heat created in the generation process is also used.

The REFIT schemes operate by guaranteeing a minimum price for renewable electricity generated and exported to the grid over a 15 year period. The current minimum prices payable for AD technologies are as follows:

AD CHP (units up to 500 kW) €156.516 per Megawatt Hour

AD CHP (units greater than 500 kW) €135.647 per MWh

AD (non CHP) (up to 500 kW) €114.779 per MWh

AD (non CHP) (greater than 500 kW) €104.344 per MWh.

The Biofuel Obligation Scheme, which has been in operation since 2010, works by obligating large road transport fuel suppliers to bring a certain amount of sustainable biofuels to the market. If placed on the market as a transport fuel, gaseous biofuels such as biogas or biomethane could be counted towards a fuel supplier’s biofuel obligation. As the biofuel market increases in line with the biofuel obligation, opportunities for indigenous biofuel production will increase also. This, in turn, may provide further opportunities for anaerobic digestion.

Further analysis is required on a cross-Departmental basis on the economic, technical and regulatory aspects of injecting biomethane into the gas grid.