It’s over 80 years since Bord na Móna was founded in 1934 with the express goal of developing the state’s natural peat resources for the economic benefit of the country. The semi-state body has made a huge contribution over that time to the Irish economy, particularly in how it supported the local economy of the midlands region of Ireland.
Over many difficult decades for the Irish economy, Bord na Móna always provided secure employment to thousands of people in the midlands of Ireland by training high-skilled engineers, fitters and machine operators.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that communities in the midlands have a deep-rooted connection with Bord na Móna.
The organisation has always been an integral part of the social fabric of the region.
For this reason, the seismic changes that are currently taking place at Bord na Móna can be difficult for those who remember times gone by when the semi-state body harvested up to 6.5m tonnes of peat every year. Today, Bord na Móna’s annual peat harvest is just a fraction of this figure at less than 1m tonnes.
Of the 80,000ha (200,000 acres) of peatlands owned by Bord na Móna, less than 16% is still used for peat harvesting today.
Carbon emissions
With the Irish State committed to reducing its dependence on fossil fuels and lowering carbon emissions, the days of harvesting peat to produce electricity are coming to an end. Over the next decade, Bord na Móna will dramatically transform the peatlands of the midlands that it manages.
Tens of thousands of acres will be rewetted to protect carbon sinks, natural habitats and biodiversity areas will be restored and new forests will be established, while renewable energy will be produced by new wind and solar farms.
These are enormous changes that will transform the entire business model behind how Bord na Móna operates.
However, some things will continue as before. The semi-state body remains committed to producing electricity at its Edenderry power plant, which currently produces 850,000MWh of electricity for the national grid every year – enough to power 170,000 homes.
According to Tom Egan, head of Powergen and Bioenergy Operations at Bord na Móna, about 60% of the electricity currently produced by the Edenderry power plant comes from burning peat, with the remaining 40% produced using sustainable biomass.
Unlike wind and solar, electricity from Edenderry can be ramped up or ramped down any day of the week to meet demand
About 500,000t of peat are burned every year at the plant, while 450,000t of biomass are used. However, Egan says the goal is to use 100% biomass to generate electricity at Edenderry, which would eliminate the need for peat altogether and see 850,000t to 900,000t of biomass used every year as feedstock for the plant.
While an increasingly large share of Ireland’s electricity is now generated from wind, Egan says power plants such as Edenderry still have a crucial role to play in how the national grid operates.
“EirGrid (the semi-state operator of the national power grid) needs to be able to ramp the national energy supply up or down to meet demand on a given day. But you can only reduce the amount of wind energy you have,” says Egan.
“You can’t increase the amount of wind energy you have if the wind isn’t blowing. Unlike wind and solar, electricity from Edenderry can be ramped up or ramped down any day of the week to meet demand.
"It’s what we call a dispatchable energy source because electricity can be generated and dispatched into the grid as needed,” he adds.
Dispatchable energy sources such as Edenderry play a critical role in creating stability in the national grid, or what’s known as inertia, where there is always enough supply to meet demand.
Transition
While the Edenderry power plant has mostly fired on peat to date, Egan says the technical design of the plant makes it ideal to transition from a fossil fuel based feedstock to 100% renewable biomass at minimal cost and without any major physical modifications at the site. If the power plant had been oil, coal or gas-fired the transition would be much costlier.
Bord na Móna plans to use biomass from residual wood and timber shavings to power its Edenderry plant.
“Because peat and biomass are very similar from a chemical and a physical point of view, we don’t need to make huge changes. The same systems that work for peat will allow us to move to biomass,” says Egan.
“On a daily basis, the Edenderry plant can switch from an 80:20 peat and biomass mix to 100% peat and no biomass. That’s why it’s eminently suitable to transition to firing with 100% biomass without any significant investment in the plant,” he adds.
Switching to 100% renewables sounds straightforward but Egan says Bord na Móna still faces a number of obstacles.
Transport operative for Bord na Móna Philip Casey. \ Philip Doyle
Firstly, under the most recent Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff scheme, commonly known as REFIT, state supports (guaranteed minimum pricing) on renewable energy produced from biomass at Edenderry power plant are capped at 40% of the plant’s total output.
Egan says the thinking at the time when REFIT was developed was to provide minimum pricing for 30% of the renewable energy produced at each of the three power plants in the midlands that were powered on peat.
Two of these were run by ESB (Shannonbridge and Lanesboro) along with the Edenderry plant.
However, in November last year, the ESB announced that it was closing both of its peat-fired power plants by the end of 2020. This means just the Edenderry plant will be left operational in the midlands.
Egan is arguing that the Government should allow the Bord na Móna power plant to transition to firing solely on renewable biomass by moving the subsidies from the two ESB plants to support 100% renewable energy production at Edenderry.
“With the other two peat stations going to shut down, we’re making the case that those 30% subsidy caps shouldn’t apply anymore. The transition to one plant supported for 100% biomass production is the equivalent of subsidising 30% renewable power at three plants,” says Egan.
“It’s the logical thing to do and it would eliminate the use of peat altogether over a period out to 2023. Moving to 100% renewables will take time to achieve but there’s a time limit for Bord na Móna because our current planning permission expires in December 2023. After that, our planning application only allows for 100% biomass generation. We’re not looking to fire peat beyond December 2023,” he adds.
Raw material
Aside from state supports, transitioning Edenderry to being fired on 100% biomass will require a major increase in the volume of raw material needed to fuel the plant.
At present, 80% of the biomass used to produce renewable electricity at Edenderry is sourced from within Ireland.
The transition to one plant supported for 100% biomass production is the equivalent of subsidising 30% renewable power at three plants
This biomass is sourced from Ireland’s forestry and timber industry and includes residual timber, leftover shavings from sawmills, unwanted or damaged logs, as well as other low-value byproducts of the timber industry.
The remainder of the biomass raw material is sourced from places such as South Africa, Brazil and Russia.
Egan says there’s been a myth that Bord na Móna is importing a huge amount of biomass which is something he’s eager to dispel.
He says Bord na Móna recently signed a three-year deal with Coillte, the state forestry body, for the supply of 80,000t of residual biomass each year.
The majority of this residual biomass is the unwanted brash from timber harvesting, as well as damaged timber from windfall.
On top of this, Egan argues the move to 100% biomass at Edenderry will create a major new demand for biomass and provide private forestry owners with a market, albeit low-value, for their previously unwanted residual timber.
“The most recent COFORD study shows that the amount of timber coming to maturity from the private forestry sector in Ireland is going to double by 2030. Private forestry owners can harvest their trees for pulpwood, stake wood and saw log and then we can take the residual material that’s left to power the Edenderry plant,” says Egan.
“We’re adding that extra little bit of margin to the forestry owner so they can get the maximum value for the trees they have planted. We are creating value for the brash that would normally be left behind on the forest floor as an unwanted byproduct,” he adds.
While Bord na Móna is only looking out to 2030 in terms of the transition to 100% biomass, the group is watching what forestry companies are doing in Finland – a country long-renowned for its innovation in forestry and timber processing.
Fortum, an energy company owned by the Finnish state, has begun producing bio-oil from biomass such as wood shavings and other forest residuals and is using this bio-oil as a renewable alternative to transportation fuel and heating oil.
The company has recently teamed up with Valmet, a Finnish technology systems provider, and Preem, a Swedish refinery company, with the aim of producing 3m tonnes of bio-oil per year from biomass to be used as a renewable transportation fuel.
Egan says Ireland will never be a leader in developing this type of cutting-edge renewable technology but that it can follow the successes of Finland’s highly innovative forestry industry.
By creating a substantial new market for previously unwanted biomass, and following the Finnish model towards making renewable bio-oil from biomass, Egan believes Bord na Móna will continue to support the local economy in the midlands of Ireland in the decades ahead.
Natural habitats and biodiversity areas will be restored and new forests will be established
Right now, the Edenderry power plant directly employs 50 people and contributes an estimated €15m to the local economy of the midlands every year. A further 100 employees are involved in harvesting peat every year to run the plant.
While the harvesting of peat as a raw material is coming to an end, Egan says the transition to 100% biomass will secure future employment for people of the midlands.
The company plans to continue using its existing light rail infrastructure, which sprawls across the peatlands of the midlands.
The company is looking at establishing a number of secondary supply depots at different points along this light rail system where forestry owners could deliver biomass to. From there, Bord na Móna would use the rail system to transport the biomass raw material to the central Edenderry power plant, just like it did for decades with peat.
Bord na Móna estimates the transition to 100% biomass will cost the average household an extra €2.40 per year on their electricity bill.
To support the move away from peat towards 100% biomass, Egan says the European Commission’s “Just Transition” fund will play a crucial role in financing the major changes ahead without hollowing out the midlands economy.
Switching to 100% renewables sounds straightforward but Bord na Móna still faces a number of obstacles.
“The EU is actively looking for projects like this to support under its Just Transition mechanism. This will also help Ireland meet its renewable energy targets, while at the same time protecting the socio-economic fabric of the midlands,” says Egan.
This is a crucial point. Moving to renewable energy sources is clearly helping Ireland meet a number of its sustainability and climate goals.
However, unless the transition can continue to provide economic sustainability for the midlands, it will not enjoy the same public support that has defined the close relationship between Bord na Móna and its local communities for the past 86 years.
It’s over 80 years since Bord na Móna was founded in 1934 with the express goal of developing the state’s natural peat resources for the economic benefit of the country. The semi-state body has made a huge contribution over that time to the Irish economy, particularly in how it supported the local economy of the midlands region of Ireland.
Over many difficult decades for the Irish economy, Bord na Móna always provided secure employment to thousands of people in the midlands of Ireland by training high-skilled engineers, fitters and machine operators.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that communities in the midlands have a deep-rooted connection with Bord na Móna.
The organisation has always been an integral part of the social fabric of the region.
For this reason, the seismic changes that are currently taking place at Bord na Móna can be difficult for those who remember times gone by when the semi-state body harvested up to 6.5m tonnes of peat every year. Today, Bord na Móna’s annual peat harvest is just a fraction of this figure at less than 1m tonnes.
Of the 80,000ha (200,000 acres) of peatlands owned by Bord na Móna, less than 16% is still used for peat harvesting today.
Carbon emissions
With the Irish State committed to reducing its dependence on fossil fuels and lowering carbon emissions, the days of harvesting peat to produce electricity are coming to an end. Over the next decade, Bord na Móna will dramatically transform the peatlands of the midlands that it manages.
Tens of thousands of acres will be rewetted to protect carbon sinks, natural habitats and biodiversity areas will be restored and new forests will be established, while renewable energy will be produced by new wind and solar farms.
These are enormous changes that will transform the entire business model behind how Bord na Móna operates.
However, some things will continue as before. The semi-state body remains committed to producing electricity at its Edenderry power plant, which currently produces 850,000MWh of electricity for the national grid every year – enough to power 170,000 homes.
According to Tom Egan, head of Powergen and Bioenergy Operations at Bord na Móna, about 60% of the electricity currently produced by the Edenderry power plant comes from burning peat, with the remaining 40% produced using sustainable biomass.
Unlike wind and solar, electricity from Edenderry can be ramped up or ramped down any day of the week to meet demand
About 500,000t of peat are burned every year at the plant, while 450,000t of biomass are used. However, Egan says the goal is to use 100% biomass to generate electricity at Edenderry, which would eliminate the need for peat altogether and see 850,000t to 900,000t of biomass used every year as feedstock for the plant.
While an increasingly large share of Ireland’s electricity is now generated from wind, Egan says power plants such as Edenderry still have a crucial role to play in how the national grid operates.
“EirGrid (the semi-state operator of the national power grid) needs to be able to ramp the national energy supply up or down to meet demand on a given day. But you can only reduce the amount of wind energy you have,” says Egan.
“You can’t increase the amount of wind energy you have if the wind isn’t blowing. Unlike wind and solar, electricity from Edenderry can be ramped up or ramped down any day of the week to meet demand.
"It’s what we call a dispatchable energy source because electricity can be generated and dispatched into the grid as needed,” he adds.
Dispatchable energy sources such as Edenderry play a critical role in creating stability in the national grid, or what’s known as inertia, where there is always enough supply to meet demand.
Transition
While the Edenderry power plant has mostly fired on peat to date, Egan says the technical design of the plant makes it ideal to transition from a fossil fuel based feedstock to 100% renewable biomass at minimal cost and without any major physical modifications at the site. If the power plant had been oil, coal or gas-fired the transition would be much costlier.
Bord na Móna plans to use biomass from residual wood and timber shavings to power its Edenderry plant.
“Because peat and biomass are very similar from a chemical and a physical point of view, we don’t need to make huge changes. The same systems that work for peat will allow us to move to biomass,” says Egan.
“On a daily basis, the Edenderry plant can switch from an 80:20 peat and biomass mix to 100% peat and no biomass. That’s why it’s eminently suitable to transition to firing with 100% biomass without any significant investment in the plant,” he adds.
Switching to 100% renewables sounds straightforward but Egan says Bord na Móna still faces a number of obstacles.
Transport operative for Bord na Móna Philip Casey. \ Philip Doyle
Firstly, under the most recent Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff scheme, commonly known as REFIT, state supports (guaranteed minimum pricing) on renewable energy produced from biomass at Edenderry power plant are capped at 40% of the plant’s total output.
Egan says the thinking at the time when REFIT was developed was to provide minimum pricing for 30% of the renewable energy produced at each of the three power plants in the midlands that were powered on peat.
Two of these were run by ESB (Shannonbridge and Lanesboro) along with the Edenderry plant.
However, in November last year, the ESB announced that it was closing both of its peat-fired power plants by the end of 2020. This means just the Edenderry plant will be left operational in the midlands.
Egan is arguing that the Government should allow the Bord na Móna power plant to transition to firing solely on renewable biomass by moving the subsidies from the two ESB plants to support 100% renewable energy production at Edenderry.
“With the other two peat stations going to shut down, we’re making the case that those 30% subsidy caps shouldn’t apply anymore. The transition to one plant supported for 100% biomass production is the equivalent of subsidising 30% renewable power at three plants,” says Egan.
“It’s the logical thing to do and it would eliminate the use of peat altogether over a period out to 2023. Moving to 100% renewables will take time to achieve but there’s a time limit for Bord na Móna because our current planning permission expires in December 2023. After that, our planning application only allows for 100% biomass generation. We’re not looking to fire peat beyond December 2023,” he adds.
Raw material
Aside from state supports, transitioning Edenderry to being fired on 100% biomass will require a major increase in the volume of raw material needed to fuel the plant.
At present, 80% of the biomass used to produce renewable electricity at Edenderry is sourced from within Ireland.
The transition to one plant supported for 100% biomass production is the equivalent of subsidising 30% renewable power at three plants
This biomass is sourced from Ireland’s forestry and timber industry and includes residual timber, leftover shavings from sawmills, unwanted or damaged logs, as well as other low-value byproducts of the timber industry.
The remainder of the biomass raw material is sourced from places such as South Africa, Brazil and Russia.
Egan says there’s been a myth that Bord na Móna is importing a huge amount of biomass which is something he’s eager to dispel.
He says Bord na Móna recently signed a three-year deal with Coillte, the state forestry body, for the supply of 80,000t of residual biomass each year.
The majority of this residual biomass is the unwanted brash from timber harvesting, as well as damaged timber from windfall.
On top of this, Egan argues the move to 100% biomass at Edenderry will create a major new demand for biomass and provide private forestry owners with a market, albeit low-value, for their previously unwanted residual timber.
“The most recent COFORD study shows that the amount of timber coming to maturity from the private forestry sector in Ireland is going to double by 2030. Private forestry owners can harvest their trees for pulpwood, stake wood and saw log and then we can take the residual material that’s left to power the Edenderry plant,” says Egan.
“We’re adding that extra little bit of margin to the forestry owner so they can get the maximum value for the trees they have planted. We are creating value for the brash that would normally be left behind on the forest floor as an unwanted byproduct,” he adds.
While Bord na Móna is only looking out to 2030 in terms of the transition to 100% biomass, the group is watching what forestry companies are doing in Finland – a country long-renowned for its innovation in forestry and timber processing.
Fortum, an energy company owned by the Finnish state, has begun producing bio-oil from biomass such as wood shavings and other forest residuals and is using this bio-oil as a renewable alternative to transportation fuel and heating oil.
The company has recently teamed up with Valmet, a Finnish technology systems provider, and Preem, a Swedish refinery company, with the aim of producing 3m tonnes of bio-oil per year from biomass to be used as a renewable transportation fuel.
Egan says Ireland will never be a leader in developing this type of cutting-edge renewable technology but that it can follow the successes of Finland’s highly innovative forestry industry.
By creating a substantial new market for previously unwanted biomass, and following the Finnish model towards making renewable bio-oil from biomass, Egan believes Bord na Móna will continue to support the local economy in the midlands of Ireland in the decades ahead.
Natural habitats and biodiversity areas will be restored and new forests will be established
Right now, the Edenderry power plant directly employs 50 people and contributes an estimated €15m to the local economy of the midlands every year. A further 100 employees are involved in harvesting peat every year to run the plant.
While the harvesting of peat as a raw material is coming to an end, Egan says the transition to 100% biomass will secure future employment for people of the midlands.
The company plans to continue using its existing light rail infrastructure, which sprawls across the peatlands of the midlands.
The company is looking at establishing a number of secondary supply depots at different points along this light rail system where forestry owners could deliver biomass to. From there, Bord na Móna would use the rail system to transport the biomass raw material to the central Edenderry power plant, just like it did for decades with peat.
Bord na Móna estimates the transition to 100% biomass will cost the average household an extra €2.40 per year on their electricity bill.
To support the move away from peat towards 100% biomass, Egan says the European Commission’s “Just Transition” fund will play a crucial role in financing the major changes ahead without hollowing out the midlands economy.
Switching to 100% renewables sounds straightforward but Bord na Móna still faces a number of obstacles.
“The EU is actively looking for projects like this to support under its Just Transition mechanism. This will also help Ireland meet its renewable energy targets, while at the same time protecting the socio-economic fabric of the midlands,” says Egan.
This is a crucial point. Moving to renewable energy sources is clearly helping Ireland meet a number of its sustainability and climate goals.
However, unless the transition can continue to provide economic sustainability for the midlands, it will not enjoy the same public support that has defined the close relationship between Bord na Móna and its local communities for the past 86 years.
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