In the era of an increased push toward electrifying every part of our lives, the Irish biomass sector is sometimes overlooked. However, with new and revised schemes emerging, the biomass sector could be set for a period of growth in Ireland as these policies begin to take shape.

In 2025, biomass continued to be an important source of renewable energy in Ireland, particularly for heating and industrial energy use.

According to COFORD, Ireland’s national council for forest research and development, the country produces around 9.7 petajoules (PJ) of indigenous forest-based biomass energy annually, equivalent to an average continuous energy output of around 308MW.

Around 93% of woody biomass was sourced domestically from forestry residues, sawmill by-products and woodchip.

Most biomass energy was used for industrial and process heat (53%), while 29% was used for electricity generation, 11% for residential heating, and 7% for commercial heating systems.

Attendees at the recent IrBEA Bioenergy Conference heard about the opportunities presented by the Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO), proposed reforms to the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH), and growing confidence in Ireland’s wood supply for biomass.

Biomass remains a real choice in Ireland’s energy mix.

As Ken Worrell of Worrell Harvesting explained that, woodchip for example, compares favourably with other fuel sources. It has low CO2 emissions, produces significantly fewer harmful gases, and avoids the dangers associated with explosive fuels.

Most importantly, it is home-grown, cheaper than many fossil fuels and improves Ireland’s energy security. However, issues around certainty of supply and confidence in the technology remain barriers to wider adoption.

Speaking at the conference, Eugene Hendrick, chair of Wood Fuel Quality Assurance, referred to recent COFORD research examining the amount of wood potentially available for energy use over the coming decades.

According to the analysis, Ireland currently could increase green biomass production by at least one million tonnes per year by the middle of the next decade as forests planted in the 1990s and 2000s reach harvesting age.

Hendrick stressed that the figures are conservative and exclude timber required by board mills and other wood-processing industries.

He said the analysis only considered material potentially available for energy use and was carried out on a county-by-county basis.

As reported extensively in the Irish Farmers Journal, the Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO), while facing a number of challenges, is still expected to become a major policy driver for renewable energy development.

What is less well known is that, while the policy is expected to be instrumental in creating a market for biomethane gas, it also represents a significant opportunity for biomass.

Under the proposed RHO model, suppliers placing renewable fuels on the market will be able to generate certificates that can then be traded with obligated fuel suppliers.

Suppliers of fossil fuels used for heating will either purchase renewable fuel and certificates, or potentially just certificates, to meet the obligation. If they fail to do so, they face significant penalties.

Biomass is one of the renewable fuel sources expected to help meet the obligation and, arguably, its potential is even greater than biomethane.

While many of the same concerns around imports apply, biomass can often be produced at a lower cost, and there is expected to be a significant increase in domestic supply coming onto the market.

For the biomass sector, the RHO is expected to create a new market for renewable heating fuels, particularly in industrial and commercial applications where alternatives to fossil fuels remain limited.

The scheme is intended to run until at least 2045, providing long-term market certainty, at least in theory.

The obligation rate is expected to start at 1.5% in year one (2026) and rise to 3% in year two, although the long-term ambition is expected to be at 10%.

Attendees at the IrBEA Bioenergy Conference also heard about a series of proposed changes to the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH). The SSRH was launched in 2019 to encourage businesses to move away from fossil fuels for heating, but uptake has been lower than anticipated due to administrative burdens and red tape.

Among the proposed reforms is support for project management costs associated with biomass boiler installations.

The department is also examining changes to heat cap calculations after finding that some businesses exceeded their approved heat demand due to expansion in production. Other proposed changes include reducing administrative requirements linked to inspections and broadening eligibility for replacing certain electric heating systems.

The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment is also examining possible tariff changes and considering whether the scheme can be expanded to ETS-regulated industries, an area that has also encountered difficulties in securing EU approval.

Biomass is already in use in several large energy installations, most notably following Aurivo’s announcement of significant investment in a wood pellet burner system last month. Other companies, such as pharmaceutical manufacturers Astellas and Haleon in Kerry, as well as Eli Lilly, were also early adopters.

While speakers highlighted growing confidence within the Irish market, concerns were raised about how biomass is viewed within European policy discussions.

Ileana Repaci, policy officer with Bioenergy Europe, explained that the EU policy agenda has shifted in recent years from a strong green deal focus towards industrial competitiveness and energy security. However, she said perceptions of biomass at institutional level remain mixed and are often negative.

She referred to earlier drafts of EU policy documents which proposed discouraging biomass combustion and prioritising other technologies instead. Although lobbying by industry groups resulted in changes to the final wording, concerns remain that bioenergy is still not receiving sufficient recognition within EU energy policy.

Ileana also explained that biomass was not referenced in a recent European Commission communication on energy competitiveness and security, despite bioenergy accounting for more than half of renewable energy consumption across the EU.

She further warned against an overreliance on electrification in future heating policy, arguing that biomass will continue to play an important role in sectors where electrification is technically or economically difficult.