Chairperson of the Irish BioEnergy Association (IrBEA) Fred Tottenham believes that 2015 marks a turning point for green energy in Ireland.

He told the association’s national conference last Wednesday that there is huge potential within the bioenergy sector for accelerated economic growth and thousands of sustainable jobs, especially in rural areas.

“A green industry will improve environmental quality, drastically cut carbon dioxide emissions, meet our international renewable energy commitments and avoid Ireland having to pay massive EU fines for failing to achieve our renewable energy targets,” he said.

Minister for Energy Alex White pledged “intensified efforts in 2015 in partnership with industry on developing and finalising sector supports in the framework of the bioenergy plan to achieve the huge renewable energy potential in Ireland, especially renewable heat incentive (RHI) and renewable electricity feed in tariff (REFIT)”.

This will also be a key sector for achieving the Government’s jobs growth target of 100,000 by 2016, he said.

“It will do that by leading the transformation to an indigenous, smart, low-carbon and energy efficient economy,” he said.

There was agreement among the various speakers and delegates in attendance (over 200) that Ireland would not achieve its renewable energy targets by 2020. However, unlike previous IrBEA conferences, there was a positive mood that Ireland was at least moving in the right direction.

Head of Coillte Enterprise Mark Foley reflected this mood in his presentation.

“The conference heard from industry experts from here and abroad on the major contribution renewable heat can make to helping Ireland meet our 2020 targets as set out under the National Renewable Energy Action Plan,” he said.

While the proposal for the introduction of an RHI continues to be delayed, he welcomed the proposal to introduce it in 2016, saying the socio-economic and environmental benefits of the incentive are clear.

“These include new jobs across the supply chain and developing our own indigenous energy supply chain, as well as reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels. However, we need to get the RHI right from the start to encourage investment in the sector,” he said.

Like a number of speakers and members of the audience, including Joe O’Carroll of Imperative Energy, he said the UK model was a good template for Ireland.

Head of RHI at Ofgem (UK) Jacquline Balian outlined how the incentive had achieved 1GW of renewable capacity through 5,000 newly accredited wood heating installations at locations including farms, factories, care homes, hospitals, hotels and churches, all for €90m.

She had useful tips for overcoming the RHI’s initial challenges, particularly quality of installations, heat metering, tariff levels and revisions, as well as state aid aspects.

Supply

The achievement of the wood energy programme will depend on the long- and short-term availability of wood biomass from existing and future forests.

In his presentation, Cormac O’Carroll (Pöyry Management Consulting, UK) was satisfied that “there is theoretically enough domestic wood to reach Ireland’s bioenergy targets, but uncertainty on what will ultimately be mobilised and what new industrial capacity will emerge in other Irish wood industries – and the RHI needs to take account of this”.

However, IFA deputy president Tim O’Leary was less positive about the immediate and long-term supply of wood biomass.

“The achievement of the renewable energy targets will be constrained by the lack of availability of a wood biomass resource,” he said.

He claimed that this was due to “declining afforestation programmes because of restrictions on planting productive land that has the capacity to grow commercial timber”.

He said the biomass volumes needed to reach national wood energy targets are not available and that the sector will fall well short of the annual requirement of four million green tonnes of biomass.

He added that farmers need guarantees of markets and will be extremely cautious about growing energy crops after the disastrous results of planting miscanthus and willow.

Green energy unit

He laid out key needs to help boost farm and food sector uptake of biomass and biogas for heating and power which had to potential “to create 3,600 new jobs and improve competitiveness”.

He called for “a dedicated green energy unit to streamline and assume responsibility for the co-ordination of the Government’s renewable strategy, more simplified regulations and a Government commitment to converting public buildings that are shown to be feasible to biomass”.

The outlook for future financing of bioenergy projects was positive, according to John O’Connor, PWC.

He said: “Sector investment opportunities have turned a corner and are now good.”

He urged the Government to “prepare an RHI designed to deliver economic and environmental objectives and to work with electricity supports, not against”.

He maintained that “tariff structures and simplicity are key to a viable bioenergy industry”.

EU approval for Forestry Programme

Minister of State with responsibility for forestry Tom Hayes has announced that the EU had approved the Forestry Programme 2014-2020.

He said: “The Government’s approval of the new forestry programme last December was an important achievement for the future development of the sector and a vote of confidence in an industry which contributes €2.3bn to GDP annually.”

However, he said EU approval was required before the programme could be officially implemented.

While the announcement was expected, the programme had introduced a number of new schemes and initiatives and the Minister and his negotiating team were taking nothing for granted from Brussels.

In his address to the AGM of the Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners (LTWO) group held in Hollyford, Co Tipperary, last Friday, he stressed the importance of the programme and value of grower groups, both to their members and to the further development of the Irish forestry sector.

The AGM also marked the establishment of LTWO as a company limited by guarantee and the installation of its new chairman, John Reardon, who took over from Michael Ryan.

Minister Hayes praised the work and commitment of the group and its establishment as a legal entity.

“Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners Ltd has been proactive in forestry development and has been working closely with stakeholders to provide the necessary advice and service to their members. This approach has wide-ranging benefits, not just from increased business, but also from purchasers and processors gaining access to a locally based supply of timber.”

LTWO was established in 2010 with assistance from Teagasc and the IFA, and represents over 80 forestry owners, most of whom were present at the AGM.

“The group provides information to members to help them enhance the productivity, quality and profitability of their woodlands in an environmentally sustainable manner,” said John Reardon.

LTWO’s members own approximately 2,000ha of woodland in counties Tipperary and Limerick.