I am here with a number of colleagues to talk about anaerobic digestion, the massive potential we see in this industry, and the problems that are preventing it from developing. Before I start, I thank Deputy Brady and the committee for the opportunity to make this presentation. We have a unique opportunity with this technology to develop a new indigenous industry.
Our plan is to give a 15 minute introduction on the industry, which has the potential to create at least 15,000 new jobs and supply 50% of our current electrical requirements from small 380 kW digesters while, critically, not reducing current agricultural output but reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is important to note the industry is not dependent on additional capital investment by the Government to become operational.
After the presentation we will try to answer as many queries as possible. We have tried to anticipate the questions that may be asked and have prepared a number of slides to help answer them. Our goal is that at the end of the meeting, the committee will have a greater understanding of the potential and enormous benefits anaerobic digestion could bring to the country if it is allowed to develop.
What is anaerobic digestion? It is a technology that enabled us to generate electricity and provide a heat source from our most renewable natural resource, green grass, in small farm-based generation plants known as digesters.
How does the technology work? Our flow chart demonstrates the principle behind it. The feedstock, silage and slurry in this case, is loaded into the digester, where organic matter is broken down by bacteria in the absence of oxygen — an anaerobic atmosphere — to produce biogas. This biogas is then used as a fuel to run a combined heat and power engine that powers a generator to produce electricity and heat. The other biproduct, digestate, can be spread back on the fields as a fertiliser and soil conditioner. The digestate still contains all the original nutrients — N, P and K — the only thing anaerobic digestion removes is the gas which, in normal circumstances escapes into the atmosphere. In summary, we are capturing a resource that previously escaped into the atmosphere, and in the process creating much needed jobs and protecting our environment.
The next slide shows a typical plant. The digesters are concrete tanks with a rubber membrane for gas storage at the top. There is then a feed-in hopper. The material is put into the feed-in hopper and from there into the digesters, where it is heated. The bacteria then break down the organic material and release the biogas, which is then transferred to a combined heat and power engine, generating heat and electricity. The plant does not have a huge footprint and we see it fitting on many farms around the country. We can sustain 4,000 such digesters. The main feedstock would be grass silage, which can be grown anywhere in the country, and hence provide a much needed additional income stream for the agriculture industry. The number of plants we are talking about would need approximately 10% of our land bank, which we believe is available or not currently being used to its full potential.
It is important to note that we see this industry as a bolt on to the existing agriculture enterprises. We do not anticipate a reduction in our current agricultural output.
This technology has been used successfully in Europe for the past 50 years. The main economies in Europe, Germany, France, Britain, Austria and Italy, have all recognised the benefits of the technology and either have a significant industry developed or are currently developing one. More than 9,000 plants are currently operating on mainland Europe and the vast majority of these were constructed in the past ten years, with the number increasing every year.
Our panel comprises representatives from the technology companies, academia and the agricultural and construction industries. We are fortunate that agriKomp, a major supplier of the technology, has flown in from Germany to share its experience and expertise on how the industry has developed in mainland Europe and how that model could be applied here, while learning from its experiences.
Our panel comprises Dr. Jerry Murphy, a lecturer from UCD, who has completed a master's degree in AD and a PhD in energy production from waste. He is a lecturer in transport engineering and a principal investigator in bio-energy and bio-fuels in the Environmental Research Institute in UCC. Dr. Murphy is regarded as one of the leading experts in the field of anaerobic digestion and has had more than 40 papers published on bio-energy and bio-fuels. Mr. Donal Buckley is a founder member of Kedco, the bioscience energy company, and is its chief executive officer. Mr. Buckley has played a key role in the development of Kedco to its current position as one of the leading companies in the fields of anaerobic digestion from gasification here and, in particular, in the UK. He is a graduate of UCD and is currently finalising an executive education programme in leadership at Stanford University in California.
Mr. Desmond Buckley is an agricultural scientist who works for Kedco. He is its business development manager for both Ireland and the UK and a graduate of UCD and has previously worked for AIPB.
Mr. Tim Meagher farms 230 acres outside Roscrea, County Tipperary. He is in the top 10% of beef producers in the country. Mr. Meagher hopes to develop an AD plant on his farm to supplement his existing enterprises. Mr. J. J. Kavanagh is a tillage and dry stock farmer from New Ross, County Wexford, and is leader of the IFA project team on alternative land use. He has held numerous posts with the IFA in the past at national and local level and is a board member of Wexford Farmers’ Co-operative.
Mr. Robert Bugar and his associates established agriKomp in 2000. It now employs more than 250 people and is one of the leading providers of AD technology. It has established offices in Germany, France, Italy and Austria. Prior to starting agriKomp, Mr. Bugar has been intensively involved in the production of bio-gas from renewable raw materials.
Mr. David Duggan is a contacts director with Duggan Brothers. He graduated from Waterford Regional Technical College with a degree in construction management and also holds a diploma in project management from Trinity College. He has 20 years experience in the construction industry with ten years at a contracts manager-contracts director level. Mr. Duggan has successfully completed projects up to the value of €35 million.
I am a contracts manager for Duggan Brothers (Contractors) Limited for the past 11 years and I have worked in the construction industry for more than 20 years. I am also a corporate member of the CIB and a graduate of Waterford Regional Technical College. I have been involved in a number of wind projects with Duggan Brothers (Contractors) Limited and have recently completed extensive research on various renewable energies.
In our panel we were trying to get a mix of all the necessary people required to get this indigenous industry up and running. To complete this brief introduction, I invite Mr. Robert Bugar to discuss the technology and the position in Europe as it now applies. I will then invite Dr. Jerry Murphy to explain briefly how this will apply to Ireland.