There have been 46 expressions of interest received for a slice of the €40m Biomethane Capital Grant Scheme. The scheme was launched alongside the publication of the National Biomethane Strategy and aims to support the construction of the first handful of new anaerobic digestion (AD) plants in Ireland.

Speaking at the Energy and Farm Diversification Show, Redmond McEvoy of the Department of Agriculture said the next stage of the process is for applicants to complete a formal application form. This is expected to be issued shortly, and applicants will have four weeks to complete it.

Applications will be evaluated on a number of criteria including achievability, value for money and a range of environmental and agricultural criteria.

A key stipulation of the funding is that the AD plants must be operational by the end of 2025. Despite the high number of applications, only a handful of projects are in a position to commence construction this year.

With lead-in times for key pieces of equipment like biogas upgraders in excess of 12 months and challenging timeframes for grid connections, even the most advanced plants will struggle to meet this deadline.

The application process is expected to filter out projects that are not achievable, as many applications were submitted for plants that haven’t even entered the planning system yet. It remains unclear how much successful applicants will receive in funding, but it will be in the millions.

2026 and beyond

Seán Kinsella of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications told attendees that farmers and developers could receive up to 40% in capital grants in the next round of capital funding from 2026 onwards.

He reaffirmed that an obligation scheme, which will penalise certain companies that fail to meet their requirement to purchase renewable alternatives to natural gas, such as biomethane, will be in place by the end of the year.