The 15th annual conference of the BioEnergy Association (IrBEA) took place in Dublin on Wednesday, and this year's theme was Unleashing Ireland’s Bioenergy Potential.

IrBEA incoming president Michael Doran described the bioenergy sector as a "truly regionalised, ground-up industry".

"[The industry] stimulates economic activity locally for farmers, those involved in designing and installing bioenergy systems and the businesses and consumers that benefit from effective, secure and sustainable heating," Doran said.

According to him, Ireland needs to accelerate the switch to renewable sources of power right across its economy, from electricity generation to transport and heating.

"This is our obligation under international treaties to prevent potentially catastrophic climate change, and in our own self-interest as a society and an island economy that is dependent on imported, polluting fossil fuels for 78% of our energy needs," Doran said.

Benefits for farmers

Speaking at the conference, Professor Alan Matthews, former president of the European Association of Agricultural Economics, spoke about the EU Council's target reductions for emissions for 2030, and how Irish farmers can help to meet these targets.

"We have some idea where we're heading, but nothing is actually fixed," he told the Irish Farmers Journal in relation to these targets. "Overall for Europe it's 40%, but we're still waiting for Ireland's national target reductions for 2030."

Matthews spoke about the benefits of biomass production for Irish farmers, saying that it could potentially offer another form of income.

"In the past, farmers have not seen this as profitable, but bioenergy could potentially give farmers a diversity of income streams. If we are supposed to be fossil-free by 2050, we need to look at biomass."

Unless we're going to import it, we want farmers to see that biomass is a profitable option

While acknowledging the development of solar and wind energy, Matthews said those sources were not sufficient to produce the energy needed. "Unless we're going to import it, we want farmers to see that biomass is a profitable option," he said. "There will have to be incentives too, of course. At the moment the farmers' income is their direct payment. Biomass is potentially an enterprise that will deliver above the market value of cattle or crops."

Matthews also pointed out that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was "overly restrictive" in allowing the production of energy crops, and that this needed to be addressed.

COP21 agreement

42% of Ireland’s renewable energy is already generated from biomass, mostly wood. Last December, 186 countries agreed a plan and commitments in Paris to restrict the increase in global temperatures to below 2% and to stop burning the most polluting fossil fuels.

The COP21 agreement also includes a regime of national plans that will be reviewed every five years. A regime of fines is under discussion to compel governments to develop and stick with renewable energy, including bioenergy resources and know-how.

"The bioenergy sector can replace €120m per year in imports of oil and gas and create 3,000 new jobs by matching locally grown biomass with local energy demand," IrBEA incoming president Michael Doran said.

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