Producing electricity from burning hemp is the lowest form of value for the crop, according to Hemp Co-operative Ireland. Co-op chair Robert Johnson was speaking about the potential for fuel and biochar at the industrial hemp conference last week.

Some uses for hemp include turning the hemp’s hurd (wood-like wastage) into ethanol, animal bedding and as an input for anaerobic digestion or biochar. Teagasc estimates that 30kg/ha of hemp is optimal for biomass and fibre production.

However, Johnson said with hemp’s many products, burning the crop for energy is one of its worst uses.

“Energy is by far the lowest value product that you can get out of hemp. To make electricity, you could burn coal, which makes twice as much energy and it’s a quarter of the price.It doesn’t make any sense from an economic point of view to burn it when there are so many other products.”