An Bord Pleanála has upheld a decision by Cork County Council to grant planning permission for a new flagship gas central grid injection (CGI) facility near Mitchelstown, Co Cork.

The Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) development will allow 590GWh of renewable biomethane to be injected directly into the national gas grid.

This has the potential to heat up to 64,000 homes when operating at full capacity, while also supporting the decarbonisation of local agriculture.

The facility will pave the way for the development of more than 20 local anaerobic digestion (AD) plants in the region. Biomethane will be produced from these AD plants and then transported via road to the new facility for grid injection.

Construction of the CGI facility is due to start in mid-2021 and the first phase is expected to be operational by mid-to-late 2022.

Kickstart

The facility will kickstart a new renewable gas production industry in the region. The AD plants will be powered by a combination of slurry, food waste and grass and will produced digestate to help displace chemical fertiliser.

“The Mitchelstown injection facility is an important step in replacing the natural gas on the network today, with sustainably produced, carbon neutral renewable gas which is entirely compatible with the existing gas infrastructure,” commented GNI’s head of asset management, Bobby Gleeson.

“The facility positions Cork, and in particular the Mitchelstown area, at the forefront of enabling sustainable circular economies that will help decarbonise Ireland’s gas network and reduce emissions across a number of key sectors, including agriculture,” Gleeson said.

“We would like to thank the local community for their support of this project and both Cork County Council and An Bord Pleanála for their approval of this important development.”

The Mitchelstown facility is part of the GRAZE Gas project, short-listed for funding by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications under the Climate Action Fund.