Over 200 people attended a meeting in Toomevara, Co Tipperary on Thursday night to discuss plans for a large scale anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in the parish.
Former IFA president Tim Cullinan has put forward plans to build an AD facility at his pig farm in Ballymackey which will take in 200,000t of animal by-product from local farms as well as nearby dairy and beef processors.
Producing enough gas to heat 9,000 homes, Cullinan said that unlike other AD facilities across the country, there will be no grass, maize or silage used as feedstock in the AD process.
While the meeting heard from experts on the benefits of renewable energy to agriculture and the local economy, there were some concerns aired by locals around increased traffic on rural roads, air pollution and odour from the AD process.
Former IFA president Tim Cullinan has put forward plans to build an AD facility at his pig farm in Ballymackey. \ Odhran Ducie
'Wrong place'
Locals have aired grievances over the size and scale of the proposed development and have said Ballymackey is the "wrong place" for it to be built, particularly given its close proximity to Ballaghveny Landfill.
Chair of the Ballymackey Biogas Concern Group Henry Mooney took issue with the potential odour from the facility. He told the meeting, which was chaired by former Teagasc director Gerry Boyle, that he has spoken to people who live beside biogas plants in Ireland who have described the smell as "horrendous at times and nauseous".
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Cullinan said: "There were some farmers worried that we were going to be renting land all around us to grow maize and grass to put into this plant. The only thing going into this plant will be animal byproducts.
"What's more, there will be no digestate going back out on land, there will be no land spread from this process, full stop.
The meeting was chaired by former Teagasc director Gerry Boyle. \ Odhran Ducie
"Firstly gas will be produced which will go to the grid, enough to heat 9,000 homes. Of the 200,000t of product going in, 100,000t is taken out in water, 50,000t will be converted into biodiesel and the remaining 50,000t will be a sludge-type product where we will have extracted ammonia and nitrogen from to sell into the fertiliser industry," he said.
For more, see next week's Irish Farmers Journal.
Over 200 people attended a meeting in Toomevara, Co Tipperary on Thursday night to discuss plans for a large scale anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in the parish.
Former IFA president Tim Cullinan has put forward plans to build an AD facility at his pig farm in Ballymackey which will take in 200,000t of animal by-product from local farms as well as nearby dairy and beef processors.
Producing enough gas to heat 9,000 homes, Cullinan said that unlike other AD facilities across the country, there will be no grass, maize or silage used as feedstock in the AD process.
While the meeting heard from experts on the benefits of renewable energy to agriculture and the local economy, there were some concerns aired by locals around increased traffic on rural roads, air pollution and odour from the AD process.
Former IFA president Tim Cullinan has put forward plans to build an AD facility at his pig farm in Ballymackey. \ Odhran Ducie
'Wrong place'
Locals have aired grievances over the size and scale of the proposed development and have said Ballymackey is the "wrong place" for it to be built, particularly given its close proximity to Ballaghveny Landfill.
Chair of the Ballymackey Biogas Concern Group Henry Mooney took issue with the potential odour from the facility. He told the meeting, which was chaired by former Teagasc director Gerry Boyle, that he has spoken to people who live beside biogas plants in Ireland who have described the smell as "horrendous at times and nauseous".
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Cullinan said: "There were some farmers worried that we were going to be renting land all around us to grow maize and grass to put into this plant. The only thing going into this plant will be animal byproducts.
"What's more, there will be no digestate going back out on land, there will be no land spread from this process, full stop.
The meeting was chaired by former Teagasc director Gerry Boyle. \ Odhran Ducie
"Firstly gas will be produced which will go to the grid, enough to heat 9,000 homes. Of the 200,000t of product going in, 100,000t is taken out in water, 50,000t will be converted into biodiesel and the remaining 50,000t will be a sludge-type product where we will have extracted ammonia and nitrogen from to sell into the fertiliser industry," he said.
For more, see next week's Irish Farmers Journal.
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