The Government’s flagship policy expected to kickstart the biomethane industry in Ireland has faced another setback and is now unlikely to be in place by the revised date of 1 January 2026.

The Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO) is a new scheme aimed at driving the use of renewable fuels in the heat sector. First announced in 2019, the policy is expected to be the main support mechanism to develop Ireland’s anaerobic digestion sector, but has been plagued by delays.

The policy has now encountered issues in receiving approval from the European Commission, and will require further work, likely to delay implementation even more.

This was according to Seán Kinsella, principal officer at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, who spoke at today’s Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) Decarbonising Industrial Heat Using Biomass seminar in Kildare.

Issue

The RHO, while not exclusive to biomethane, was tasked with encouraging the development of a domestic biomethane industry — central to the construction of new anaerobic digestion plants and achieving Ireland’s 2030 Climate Action targets.

In response to a question from the Irish Farmers Journal, Kinsella explained that when assessing the sources of biomethane to meet the obligation, it was found that biomethane available in Europe could likely be sourced more cheaply than it could be produced domestically.

He stated that imported biomethane from the continent would likely come into the Irish market and undermine efforts to develop an indigenous anaerobic digestion sector.

For that reason, a mechanism had to be included to ensure that domestic biomethane could at least compete on a level playing field, he said.

A multiplier was proposed, whereby Irish biomethane would receive more certificates than imported biomethane.

“We’re not looking to put a multiplier in place to give domestic biomethane an advantage over imported biomethane — we’re only looking for a level playing field. This will, however, need to be justified to the European Commission,” he said.

Multipliers are common in such schemes, but the focus is usually on fuel type rather than the origin of the fuel. This is where the issue lies with the European Commission, which is seeking more information on how the proposed multiplier would not interfere with the EU internal single market. “It’s a cross-border trade issue,” he said.

Timeline

The scheme will require new legislation, which was needed regardless of the delay. However, the latest setback means new information must now be submitted to the Commission, which will in turn need time to respond.

While a lot of preparatory work is being done in parallel, the 1 January 2026 implementation date is out, he said.

Although Seán could not provide a new timeline, he said the aim is to implement the scheme as soon as possible.

Urgent update

The anaerobic digestion industry is awaiting the implementation of the RHO in order to secure a market and attract investment, enabling the construction of new plants.

Little details have been provided by the Department on the scheme, but today's news marks another blow to a sector that has so far seen little meaningful policy support.

Seán Finan, CEO of IrBEA, has called on Minister Darragh O'Brien to issue an urgent update to inform the industry on the progress of the policy.

Speaking at today’s seminar in Kildare today, Finan said: “IrBEA, on behalf of our biomethane developers and biogas plant operator members, calls on Minister O'Brien to make a statement as a matter of urgency — to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to the Biomethane Strategy and to clarify the timelines and design details of the proposed RHO”.

“Urgent market certainty is required from Government, as some of the proposed investment by developers could be in jeopardy if this certainty is not provided promptly,” he said.