Economy

Gas Networks Ireland to build €30m renewable gas injection facility in Cork

New Mitchelstown project will generate gas from food and farm waste

An employee of Uniper Energy Storage inspects the above-ground facilities of a natural gas storage facility at the Uniper Energy Storage facility in Bierwang, southern Germany on June 10, 2022. (Photo by LENNART PREISS / AFP) (Photo by LENNART PREISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Wed Jun 29 2022 - 09:41

Gas Networks Ireland is planning Ireland’s first large-scale renewable gas injection facility next summer, the company’s chief executive Cathal Marley is expected to tell delegates at the Energy Ireland conference in Croke Park on Wednesday.

The €30 million Green Renewable Agricultural Zero Emissions (GRAZE) renewable gas project will include a central grid injection (CGI) facility in Mitchelstown, Co Cork.

The new facility will receive and inject biomethane – a carbon neutral renewable gas made from farm and food waste through a process call anaerobic digestion – from up to 20 local farm-based producers.

At full capacity, the facility could inject enough biomethane to meet the requirements of up to 64,000 homes.

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Biomethane can replace natural gas to reduce emissions in heating, industry, transport and power generation, while also supporting the decarbonisation of the agri-food sector.

“Ireland’s national gas network must be repurposed to transport renewable biomethane and hydrogen at scale,” said Gas Networks Ireland chief executive Cathal Marley.

“Gas Networks Ireland is uniquely placed to deliver the necessary change, and with projects such as GRAZE, we’re already working hard to help deliver Ireland’s sustainable energy future.”

Mr Marley said the GRAZE project is designed to showcase large-scale agricultural biomethane clusters that can be replicated in other locations throughout the State.

“A domestic biomethane industry would not only support the decarbonisation of the agricultural sector, but it would also provide significant opportunities for rural communities and facilitate sustainable circular economies, with businesses powering their operations via renewable gas made from their own waste,” he said.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan said: “The GRAZE project is being funded under the Climate Action Fund, which is administered by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications,”

“This project shows how we can diversify our gas supplies, by speeding up the roll-out of renewable gases like biomethane,” he said.

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