A major new anaerobic digestion plant, powered by food and garden waste, is set to be built in Little Island, Cork.

Developer Stream Bioenergy, which operates a number of AD plants, including the 100% poultry manure plant in Tully, Antrim, launched the project this week, which is set to see €80m invested in its construction.

When operational in 2027, the facility will process 90,000 tonnes of domestic and commercial food and garden waste per year. It will reduce GHG emissions by 40,000 tCO2e per annum, while delivering more than 80GWh of renewable biomethane annually to the Irish national grid.

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Biomethane purchase

Centrica’s Bord Gáis Energy has secured the biomethane gas off-take contract for the facility, while some of the largest national and regional waste collection companies will supply waste to the facility.

The biomethane gas will contribute towards the forthcoming Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO), which suffered a significant setback last week when a key element of the scheme was found not to comply with EU market rules.

The facility will also produce biofertilisers by recycling nutrients from food waste, which will be used by farmers.

Project funding

Funding for this project has been provided by Pioneer Infrastructure Partners SCSp and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with whom Stream recently completed a portfolio-level debt raise of more than €75m.

KVI (the EPC contractor) has also taken a minority stake in the project. A significant proportion of the €80 million capital spend will be directed to local civil, mechanical and electrical contractors and, once operational, the facility is expected to generate around €4 million in annual local expenditure.

The project will create more than 100 construction jobs and more than 20 permanent operational roles at the facility, along with a range of jobs across the project supply chain.

European gas threat

Kevin Fitzduff, co-founder of Stream BioEnergy, commented:

“There is now a clear need for the Irish Government and the European Commission to swiftly reach an agreement on the RHO so that the future of Ireland’s biomethane sector is protected and can grow over the long-term.”

“We are calling for a practical solution that would ensure only truly unsubsidised biomethane is eligible for import into Ireland under the RHO, preventing historically subsidised European supply from undermining Irish-produced biomethane and giving the domestic sector the support it needs to scale.”