Expressions of interest being sought from biomethane producers to supply new Cork facility 

EXPRESSIONS of interest are being sought from biomethane producers who could supply a new Gas Networks Ireland facility in Mitchelstown.

The aim is to develop a co-operative-style farm-based renewable gas industry in the North Cork region.

Construction of a €30m central grid in the town is scheduled to get under way later this year and, at full capacity, the facility will be capable of injecting up to 700 GigaWatt hours of renewable gas into the national gas network annually.

Gas Networks Ireland say this volume represents 1.2% of Ireland’s total gas demand and equates to 12% of the Government’s biomethane production target for 2030.

The head of business development for Gas Networks Ireland, Karen Doyle, said it was an exciting time for ‘Ireland’s nascent biomethane industry’ and referred to the Government’s publication of a national biomethane strategy in May and a partnership that Gas Networks Ireland had entered into with Bia Energy.

“We are delighted to be in a position to begin the process of booking capacity for the Mitchelstown CGI facility,” said Ms Doyle.

“Our previous market-testing exercises, and research, have revealed Ireland’s potential to replace more than a quarter of natural gas on the network with biomethane, creating significant, new agri-income streams and reducing Ireland’s total emissions by nearly four million tonnes annually, she said.

”With over 170 potential biomethane producers eager to contribute, there is the potential to achieve, and possibly exceed, the State’s current target of 5.7 TWh.”

The Mitchelstown CGI facility is the centrepiece of the much wider €30m Green Renewable Agricultural Zero Emissions (GRAZE) project in the North Cork town.

GRAZE is designed to showcase large-scale agricultural biomethane clusters that can be replicated in other locations throughout the State and is aiming to source biomethane from a number of local suppliers.

Led by Gas Networks Ireland, the GRAZE project is supported by more than €8.4m in funding from the Climate Action Fund, as part of the Government’s National Energy Security Framework.

Biomethane is compatible with the existing national gas network, appliances, technologies and vehicles, and will ultimately replace natural gas to reduce emissions in heating, industry, transport, and power generation, while also supporting the decarbonisation of the agri-food sector.