Outlets for the sustainable use of poultry litter and concerns surrounding the availability of renewable energy incentives for new electricity generation projects in NI were discussed by DARD officials at the Assembly’s agriculture and rural development committee meeting last week.

Brian Ervine from DARD said that around 100,000t of the 270,000t of poultry litter currently produced in NI annually can be spread on arable land here without affecting water quality through excess phosphorous in soils.

He said that a further 42,000t of litter is used for compost production, at least 15,000t is exported for incineration at a power station in Fife in Scotland and 5,000t is used in small-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) plants.

Ervine estimated that between 25,000t and 50,000t is exported for spreading on arable land in the Republic of Ireland and that there was scope to increase this further. However, more outlets are needed, given expansion plans in the sector, which could result in an additional 50,000t of litter annually in future years.

From next year, an AD plant in Glenmore Estate in Ballybofey, Co Donegal, that was developed under the Sustainable Use of Poultry Litter (SUPL) loan scheme will use 90,000t of organic material each year, with 25,000t of this being NI poultry litter.

Ervine told MLAs that the biogas from the plant will be cleaned, compressed and transported in lorries to four sites owned by Bombardier and Montupet near Belfast. Electricity will be generated at the sites under the NI Renewables Obligation (NIRO).

The digestate from the plant will be used on forestry land in the Republic of Ireland. However, the AD process removes the risk of botulism, meaning digestate can potentially be spread on grassland.

Under the SUPL loan scheme, a total of £16m loan funding is available to cover 40% of capital costs for demonstration projects to develop uses for poultry litter.

MLAs were told that the Glenmore project received £9.3m and a second AD plant is in the running to avail of the rest of the loan fund.

Incentives

SUPL was developed to demonstrate to investors that projects can be feasible. However, projects rely on renewable incentives to be commercially viable.

The existing NIRO incentive closes to new applicants in April 2017 and no replacement scheme is yet planned.