The Renewable Gas Forum Ireland (RGFI) has welcomed the inclusion of sustainable biomethane produced from anaerobic digestion (AD) in the Climate Action Plan.

RGFI CEO PJ McCarthy said large-scale, indigenous biomethane production on Irish farms is the only commercially feasible and technically proven means of decarbonising the Irish food supply chain.

“On behalf of our members who have been advocating for sustainable biomethane, we welcome the recognition by Government that this technology, which is widely available in Europe and other geographies, has a significant role to play in meeting the -51% target by 2030,” he said.

“We look forward to hearing more about the supporting measures, which should include the introduction of the Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO) Scheme at the earliest opportunity,” Mr McCarthy concluded.

Savings

The recent KPMG Project Clover Feasibility Study outlines the industry proposition to displace over 680kt CO2 per annum by 2030, as a conservative estimate.

The full potential of biomethane to reduce CO2 emissions is over 1.9 million tonnes per annum, at a maximum potential production of 9.5TWh (source: KPMG/ Devenish, Oct 2021).

Based on an October 2021 KPMG report, the RGFI says it is confident that a biomethane target of 10% can be achieved by 2030 if the RHO Scheme is introduced as a matter of urgency.