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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 5 Apr 1979

Vol. 313 No. 8

Written Answers. - Energy Production.

213.

asked the Minister for Economic Planning and Development, in relation to experiments and demonstration projects being carried on in Ireland in regard to the production from agriculture of renewable energy sources (1) the varieties of trees in use in biomass activity; (2) the location of the trees; (3) if other crops are proposed to be used as well as trees and, if so, the crops; (4) if the use of agricultural waste for energy production is to be studied.

There are two projects, one ongoing and the other about to commence, which can properly be classified as demonstration projects in the biomass energy area.

The ongoing project consists of an experimental programme on the combustion of forestry residues by conventional peat burning equipment at the ESB station at Cahirciveen, County Kerry. The residues used in this case are provided from local supplies of damaged and precommercial thinnings of sitka spruce trees.

In the case of inter-institutional biomass energy demonstration project to be commenced in the near future and which will be part-funded by the EEC, the species of forest products involved will be selected from those showing the best promise and may vary from year to year. It is expected that the bulk of the plantations will consist of hardwood species and of willow or alder trees. Another portion of the plantation will consist of sitka spruce.

While a final decision has not yet been taken on the precise location of this EEC-funded demonstration project, the indications so far are that the area adjacent to the ESB station at Bellacorick, County Mayo, is likely to be the most advantageous site. The advantages attaching to this particular site include: (1) Its proximity to the chosen conversion facility, viz the ESB station; (2) The availability of ESB generating and transmission infrastructure; (3) The availability of up to 1,000 acres of peat cutaway; (4) The availability of 500 acres suitable for high yielding forestry plantation; (5) The availability of existing mature conventional forestry from which the residue could be made available to the combustion facility.

It is not proposed to use any crops other than forestry products in the case of the two demonstration projects referred to. However, evaluation studies which will continue to be made will keep the prospects for using conventional agricultural crops as an energy crop under review.

The question of using agricultural waste for energy production has to be considered from the point of view of conventional agricultural crop residues and animal wastes. In the case of crop residues, studies carried out here a number of years ago indicated that such wastes were not available in sufficient quantities to be usefully considered for energy conversion purposes. Most such residues are already used in the normal farm regime. As regards animal wastes conversion costs have so far tended to militate against their use on any appreciable scale for energy production. However, recent improvements in the method of processing particular animal wastes which are being developed at University College Galway may give some hope that costs of conversion in this area might become more economic. This development at University College Galway has resulted from a project on the production of methane from agricultural and dairy wastes which was begun in 1976 and financed in part under the NBST University/Industry Cooperation Grant Scheme (formerly operated by the National Science Council). This project, which finished at the end of 1978, was most successful. A rapid method for the production of methane was achieved and the economic viability of the experimental plant was established.

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