Some of Ireland’s leading food and drink companies are supporting a big move into production of biogas, an emissions-free energy source from agricultural waste and energy crops.
Diageo, one of the State’s biggest
gas consumers – mainly through St James’s Gate brewery in Dublin –
and Dairygold co-op are leading the way.
Ireland, with its large
agriculture sector, is considered the EU member state with best
potential to exploit biogas. But a “renewable heat incentive” (RHI) to
support this sector is absent. It’s urgently required, according to
those prepared to back the green technology – Ireland is the only EU
country without a RHI.
Biogas comes with benefits: it’s a renewable energy source that farmers can help generate and it reduces CO2 emissions associated with farming, which are responsible for a third of Irish greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Much of Diageo’s gas needs next
year are likely to be supplied by Green Generation in Nurney, Co
Kildare, an anaerobic digester plant set up by pig farmer Billy
Costello. The €5 million biogas facility is beside one of his pig farms.
It is designated a demonstration facility by Gas Networks Ireland, the
State-owned Ervia subsidiary supporting development of renewable energy.
The Costello family also operates a
3,000-sow unit and dairy farm in Germany, where they have two
digesters. The Nurney anaerobic digester plant uses piggery slurry and
23,000 tonnes of foodwaste a year, generating enough electricity to
power 500 houses.
The facility generates heat and
electricity for the piggery from a combined heat and power (CHP) unit.
Their aim is to purify and certify the methane, pipe it into the
national network for large industry to utilise such as Diageo. A
national gas grid injection point at Cush, 8 km away, is due to be
commissioned soon.
Germany has 8,000 biogas plants
built up over 20 years; the UK has 600. A reasonable start, Costello
says, would be to build quickly to match the UK.
Income stream
Currently, about 14 cents/kWh is
paid for electricity from this energy source; the equivalent in Germany
is 22 cents – A 7.5 cent/kW subsidy is needed, GNI estimates.
Costello, who is from north Co Galway, cites the case of west of Ireland beef farmers.
“Thousands of them are not
making money. They don’t want to change their farm over to bushes or
forestry. It goes against the Irish psyche.”
By allowing grass silage to be sold for biogas production, “they
remain farmers, the land is green, and the infrastructure is largely in
place already. Farmers are helping to decarbonise…and in the process
have a new income stream.”
Biogas enhances energy independence by replacing imported fossil fuels and is cheaper. In contrast, “there is not much point to producing beef at a loss, while also adding to GHG emissions,” he says.
Costello believes the Government attitude to energy has favoured monopolies and “old way” thinking – when it came to electricity, it meant “leave it to the ESB” – making acceptance of biogas difficulty to achieve.
Massive fines loom for Ireland
after 2020 for failing to meet renewable energy targets in heat and
transport, he warns. In much the same way creameries became co-ops, he
believes building 15 to 20 anaerobic digestion plants a year is
realisable.
The preferred system is “Hub and
Pod”; pods being small to medium sized farm-scale anaerobic digestion
plants in regional clusters; the hub a central injection point connected
to the national gas grid.
“This is the most cost-effective solution, and maximises the potential benefit (commercial and environmental) for Irish farmers,” explains Liam Reid Diageo’s corporate relations director.
“Diageo want to be first
movers with this proven technology in other European countries. It could
unlock a sustainable solution for farm waste management and provide a
double benefit in terms of reducing GHG emissions in farming alongside
displacing fossil fuels.”
Diageo intends to derive all of
its power from renewable sources by 2030 and is seeking a 50% reduction
in GHG emissions by 2020 from a 2007 baseline. Already it has achieved a
26% reduction at St James’s Gate. Biogas is set to help close the gap.
The Green Generation model is a
template that can be replicated and expanded, says GNI business
development manager Ian Kilgallon. Biogas can be upgraded to natural gas
quality and injected into the grid or used as vehicle fuel.
Hub projects are also underway in
Mitchelstown, Co Cork (beside Dairygold’s dairy processing facility), in
Louth/Cavan and another Munster location. Others are at planning stage.
Permanent jobs
PJ McCarthy, chair of the
Renewable Gas Forum of Ireland, an industry body, underlines ease of
transition. As most businesses are gas customers and renewable gas can
run to the same efficiency in CHP generators and gas boilers, switching
is simple. It has the potential to generate 3,000 permanent jobs in
rural Ireland by 2050 and 5,000 jobs in the construction phase.
If Ireland does not decarbonise, its reputation as a green producer of food and drink products will unravel, he warns.
A constant focus for Simon
Shannon, Diageo supplier performance manager, is on energy efficiency
and sustainability. Biogas offers huge opportunity for the agrifood
sector, he says, in parallel with helping Diageo to meet its
sustainability targets and reduce GHG emissions.
Current maximum capacity of Green Generation would meet about 35% of St James’s Gate total energy (gas) requirements.
“We would purchase this gas
via a certification scheme, whereby we would pay the generator for the
quantity of gas that they inject into the national grid, and we would
claim the associated GHG emissions benefit resulting from the displaced
volume of natural gas. We burn gas on site to generate electricity and
steam, which is distributed to all process and facilities users across
the St. James’s Gate site.”
Diageo’s sustainability focus cuts
across all aspects of the business, including its new €169 million
brewhouse. Its CHP plant, the “first of that scale in the world”,
adds excess power to the electricity grid. Zero waste goes to landfill.
A natural gas vehicle delivers malted barley from its facility in Athy
to St James’s Gate, producing 20% less CO2 emissions than its diesel-powered equivalent.
The main source of carbon
emissions in Dairygold’s business is natural gas, ie fossil fuels from
the national grid, which supplies almost 90% of the energy it uses. It
has been at the forefront of energy and emissions management for many
years, according to Dave FitzGerald, Dairygold’s group head of
sustainability.
“In the 1990s we were the
first dairy processor in Ireland to install CHP, a clean and highly
carbon-efficient way of generating electricity and steam for our
processes from natural gas,” he adds. “Through recent investments in processing capacity we have incorporated energy efficient technologies to reduce our energy demand.”
In 2012 Dairygold installed an AD at its Mitchelstown complex.
“The technology used was a
first for the dairy industry and it is the largest above ground digester
of its type in the world. The digester generates biogas from dairy
processing waste water. The biogas is burned in boilers and supplies up
to 6% of the heat demand for the production site. This displaces natural
gas use and saves over 3,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions
annually.”
Tiered payments
They are exploring ways to further reduce its processing carbon footprint through renewable fuels.
“Currently the options for
large scale renewable heat in Ireland are limited and do not work with
our energy infrastructure. Based on our positive experience with
self-generated biogas, we support the inclusion of anaerobic
digestion and biomethane (upgraded biogas) grid injection in the
proposed RHI.”
FitzGerald adds: “This is
essential to kick-start the biogas industry in Ireland. The GNI
initiative to support biomethane grid injection will provide an option
to further reduce our processing carbon emissions.”
Relying on HGV transport for milk
collection and haulage of farm inputs, it sees potential in a move to
biomethane to further reduce emissions.
“As a co-operative, we are
keenly interested in the potential for anaerobic digestion at farm level
to reduce farm emissions, provide an alternative income stream for
farmers and improve nutrient management.”
Minister for Climate Action and the Environment Denis Naughten is committed to a RHI: “It
will create new commercial opportunities for farmers in heat
technologies including biomass boiler installations and new
opportunities for foresters. It will also help us to meet our EU
renewable energy targets.”
The proposal he is bringing to Government will include “anaerobic digestion which will encompass biogas boilers and biomethane injection into the natural gas grid”.
Tiered payments will apply to each technology. Payments will decrease with increasing scheme size and economies of scale.
“This will provide a balance
between ensuring suitable incentives for investment and value for money
for the Exchequer. It is vital the scheme has sufficient budgetary
safeguards. The experience from other jurisdictions provides important
lessons for implementation of the RHI in Ireland,” he flagged last week. The package is due to be signed off by Cabinet shortly.
Those in the emerging biogas
sector hope it gets its fair share; enough to scale up a proven energy
industry – what’s needed, they underline, is a lot less than those
threatened EU fines arising from missed renewable energy targets.
Q&A panel:
What is renewable gas, also known as biogas or green gas?
It’s gas produced from renewable
sources. While conventional gas supply is procured by extracting fossil
fuels from the earth, it is created by extracting methane from
feedstocks such as animal waste (manure/slurry); municipal waste, food
waste and energy crops ie grass/silage/grains.
How is it generated?
It is not high-tech. Source
material is placed in an oxygen-free container known as an anaerobic
digester (AD). A bacteria is introduced and the material breaks down
releasing methane gas identical to natural gas obtained from drilling
and exploration.
Environmental benefits?
Gas is a cost-effective flexible
and low emission energy option – biogas even more so; it is indigenous,
sustainable and “carbon neutral”.
Other benefits?
Its flexibility for use in a
variety of circumstances: it is easily upgraded to natural gas quality
and injected into the national grid, or used for transport. It is
usually used as fuel for heating or electricity generation. This is
achieved using sustainable feedstocks without the need for dedicated
energy crops or permanent land use change.
What are the Paris climate change targets to be met?
By 2020, 16% of Irish energy must
come from renewable sources, with individual targets for heating,
transport, electricity generation and associated greenhouse gas
emissions. By 2020, 12% of Ireland’s heat must come from renewable
sources. At present, we are well short of this target. Failure will
result in heavy EU fines – it is estimated that fines of €240 million
per annum for each percentage point targets are missed by.
Source: The Irish Times
