Yes. I thank the sub-committee for its invitation which we were delighted to accept. I will tell members who we are and what we have done. I will refer to the biomass side of renewable energy and the possibility it can produce for the economy in Ireland. We are talking about producing renewable energy from natural resources here and how we can do this in a way that adds value to everything we do throughout the economy. The primary drivers in this marketplace are climate change and energy security. This marketplace is here to stay and will not disappear because these two issues are so important to every economy, but particularly to ours as a small island off the west coast of Europe. It is not a fad. We must examine four aspects of the renewable energy we have in abundance: biomass, produced from crops, land and trees; biogas, through anaerobic digestion and waste products from any industry; bioliquid, renewable energy that comes from the land because it is a seed crop; and air and water.
We concentrate only on biomass. All members of the Green Energy Growers Association are farmers and we want to produce something that is valuable and that can be turned into renewable energy from the land. We seek efficient use of land. We are a non-profit organisation and have not been funded by anyone except ourselves. We started in 2006 and wanted to do something quickly. We were willing to provide our land base and years of expertise to develop this quickly. That is why we took the route we took. We must keep this in perspective. We are a small island off the west coast of Europe. We have a certain amount of land available and a certain population. We must keep our targets real and keep focused.
Members are aware that biomass is a raw material to produce solid bio-fuels, which can replace oil, gas and coal. We refer to combined heat and power plants, commercial boiler systems and domestic heating systems. I did not include all of the pictures when I sent the committee secretariat the presentation.
The crops we are talking about are miscanthus, reed canary grass, straw, trees and most plant life. The harvested straw or cane from that is converted and processed into chip, pellet or briquette and produces solid bioenergy when combusted.
How does one go about this to ensure that it develops in a well-planned, strategic manner so that as one invests money it is invested at the right place and the right time? We designed a production plan and a national framework by which we could produce biomass in the most efficient way possible. The framework examines energy crops, where and how it can be produced as well as the kind of processing and capacity. We also asked if there was a carbon incentive from this type of renewable energy and whether we could trade the carbon from it. We examined where we could target Government funding and, to date, it has been targeted in the right place, namely, the establishment of efficient biomass crops. We now need to move on to the market place. One must invest in supply chains so that there is efficient delivery of products. We must also set standards. This is no longer a problem because the standards have been set by Sustainable Energy Ireland.
We examined what we can produce. One such crop is miscanthus, a perennial grass that produces 15 to 20 tonnes of biomass per year. It takes two years to establish. Once planted it grows for 20 years without replanting. It is quite expensive to establish but minimum inputs are required. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food provides an establishment grant towards every hectare and has committed to continuing the establishment grant for two years after 2010. It is a woody type straw or cane and is harvested with existing agri-equipment. Miscanthus is sparse on the ground when it is first planted and it takes two years for the plant to expand. I have provided a picture of the plant after a number of months and another at the three-year stage, when it is ready to harvest. The picture also shows mechanical planters. We have developed the equipment necessary for it. Miscanthus is a vigorous plant but it takes two years to establish it so that it fills the field. Another picture shows the crop when it is two years old and 12 ft. tall. Every year one harvests the crop in springtime and it grows again. We see crops that are high yielding and that produce major tonnage through an efficient use of the land. With regard to the fuel and food debate, we ensure that we do not have a negative impact on food production. Much land is available. Between REPS, the nitrates directive, the sugar beet industry closing down and set-aside being abolished, land has become available. Some 700,000 hectares of land could be used to produce these crops, without affecting food production.
One can use traditional farm equipment to harvest. For mowing, one uses mowers and bales it into square bales. At this stage the biomass raw material is ready to be converted into energy. Miscanthus is the foundation crop and we will continue to grow it. It will guarantee supply but one also needs other crops in the mix. For tillage farmers seeking a rotational crop to replace sugar beet, this picture shows industrial hemp grown in Cahir, County Tipperary. We grew 120 hectares of industrial hemp last year so that we could research it. It is a wonderful crop but requires further work. This is a crop that could be used in tillage farms for biomass.
How does one get the raw material from the bale form into, for example, the heating system in the Oireachtas? We developed a network of seven green energy services companies, GESCO. Each of these companies is owned by the farmers and land owners in each region and these are the people who produce the crops. Each person, including Mr. Ronan and I, invested in the local regional energy services company. We are the shareholders of these companies. They are based in rural areas and contract growers to grow the crop. The majority of shareholders also grow crops. We store the crop and process it into biomass to be turned into bioenergy products for delivery to consumers and industry as fuel, in the form of chip, pellet or briquette, or as managed heat and power. The latter system means that the green energy service company installs the system. It is similar to the service provided by Bord Gáis. The green energy service company provides the energy and the consumer pays per month. Each green energy service company is a private limited company and produces the crop, ensures the crop is processed properly and markets the finished product, sale of heat, to consumers. We have seven green energy service companies and each region's company has assessed the region. The company knows the energy users, the number of houses in the area, the commercial energy users, the industrial energy users, and local authority and Government buildings. They know what is required in each region, the capacity and what we can produce.
There are seven regional bioenergy companies, with 40 directors and 200 shareholders from the agricultural community. We intend expanding the shareholding because the first stage of development involves 30 shareholders in each region. We expect to expand and we hope that many more farmers from those regions will join us. We have invested more than €4 million in research and ensuring the crops are developed. We are now ready to enter the marketplace with this raw material.
Due to the money, time, effort and planning involved, we know that we must guarantee a secure supply of this raw material to guarantee the development of this business. The only way to do so is to encourage the best use of the land.
The economic benefits to developing in the way we have, include providing confidence for people to invest in this new technology and the business itself and stimulating investment in bioenergy technologies. When large, small or manufacturing companies see that a crop, material or energy is indigenous they become more confident in investing in this type of technology. They are no longer afraid that there will not be enough of the product in five years time. This industry can create a new economic sector in the country and provide real employment opportunities.
With regard to seed reproduction, and therefore crop production, this is a very labour intensive industry as it involves grading and production. New equipment is necessary and agri-contractors find they are busy at a time of the year they normally are not. Many people are involved in the manual grading and planting of the crop. As the crops are harvested in the spring, employment is provided at a time of the year when normally it is not. Processing involves transportation and specialised delivery equipment and the manufacture of commercial boilers. We are very close to signing a contract with a commercial boiler manufacturer in Germany. It is quite a small company and if this develops well it is very interested in manufacturing those boilers here. For us, this would mean that from the seed to the field to the furnace everything would be produced and manufactured here and this is very important.
People believe that renewable energy must be produced and delivered locally. It represents new career opportunities for young farmers and could activate or reactivate and restructure rural development. It involves effective and efficient land use. The rural environment protection scheme and the nitrates directive are very good and were necessary but we have got slightly sidetracked away from efficient land use. We considered that efficient land use meant making the best use of subsidies and supports. What we mean by efficient land use is producing something valuable from that land. Efficient food and fuel balance is very important.
