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The Dowth Farm & Research Facility in Meath, a Global Lighthouse facility (“Dowth”), supported by KPMG Sustainable Futures, has been commissioned by Gas Networks Ireland (“GNI”) to produce an independent report assessing the environmental sustainability of a proposed national agricultural led biomethane industry in Ireland. The proposed national biomethane industry consists of a network of rural-based farm-scale anaerobic digestion (“AD”) plants producing biomethane for injection into the natural gas network as well as a network of food-waste AD plants.
While biomethane industries have been rolled-out across Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland at significant scale over recent decades, its deployment in Ireland has been very limited to date, with only a handful of commercial scale AD plants developed. Although AD is considered a proven technology, there have been a number of environmental and economic concerns cited which have hampered its development and policy support in Ireland.
This report seeks to provide scientific analysis and real-world data on the key questions and knowledge gaps concerning the sustainability of an Irish agricultural led biomethane industry. The core aim of this report is to assess whether Ireland can develop an environmentally sustainable biomethane industry without creating unintended negative consequences.
The research and evidence utilised in this report has been drawn from existing local and international scientific data and research into biomethane production and supplemented with new research, primarily from academic researchers within Dowth, as well as through consultation with relevant experts within Teagasc, the state agency focused on research, advisory and education in agriculture, horticulture, food and rural development in Ireland.
This report provides evidence that the development of a sustainable biomethane industry in Ireland is technically feasible and so long as it is developed in a co-ordinated manner, can avoid any negative unintended consequences. As such, a number of proven methodologies have been provided to drive the rollout of a biomethane industry whilst ensuring continued agricultural productivity and improved environmental sustainability.