Biogas venture mooted for Ballyduff

Plans to develop what's described as a “renewable biogas facility” to produce renewable energy and organic fertiliser have been signalled for Tullamore.

Strategic Power Limited intends to apply for planning permission for the development on a 2.1379-hectare site at Ballyduff, close to the Clara Road on the outskirts of the town, according to a newly published planning notice.

Biogas is a renewable, carbon-neutral gas generated from biological processes. The biogas is extracted from organic material such as food waste, animal slurries, biodegradable material, and purpose-grown crops and can be harnessed for heat, electricity, and transport.

The biogas produced is upgraded to produce a purer biomethane, equivalent to natural gas, which can be injected into the national gas grid to supply homes.

Biogas plants also create another product – digestate – a valuable organic fertiliser, which contains all the “nutrients and micronutrients needed for modern farming including nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium,” says the European Biogas Association.

What's planned for the new plant is a grid injection unit, feedstock reception hall, boiler and plant room, weighbridge cabin and laboratory, two primary digester tanks, a secondary digester tank, and two liquid digestate storage tanks.

Other elements of the proposals include a new site entrance, internal roads, yards, parking, water storage tanks, two manure reception tanks, a buffer tank, solid digestate store, a pasteurisation unit, a gas entry unit, and a gas upgrade unit. Three LPG tanks, three silage clamps, a wheel wash, and a pump room are also included in the new plans.

The applicant, with a listed address in Hatch Street, Dublin 2, has two weeks to get its formal application into Offaly County Council after the publication of the planning notice.

According to a 2016 report published by the European Commission, Ireland has the highest potential for renewable gas production per capita in Europe, due partly to Ireland’s agricultural sector.

Permission is being sought under Section 41 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 for ten years and the application requires an Industrial Emissions Licence from the EPA.

An Environmental Impact Assessment report will be accompany the planning application.