Biogas is a greener way of generating energy but the location of plants producing the fuel needs sensible planning, according to Galway East TD and Minister for Rural Affairs Seán Canney.
Minister Canney said: “Biogas is an important fuel in tackling Climate Change. It involves processing organic waste at high temperatures to create heat and energy.
“However, we need to be careful about the location of plants. Silage, slurry and other materials can produce unpleasant odours when transported in their raw form so building plants in towns and villages should be avoided.
“We need to localise biogas plants at source using state of the art processing methods. In other jurisdictions, the plants are located at source of the material and are designed to accommodate local waste, which helps save on transportation costs and cuts carbon emissions.
“People should come first in deciding locations. We have plenty of public land available, such as Bord na Mona and Coillte lands, where plants can be located.
“We need to bring everyone with us as we transition to greener forms of energy. There are huge advantages to biogas production and the principles behind it are perfect. It reduces waste going to landfill and recycles it. “Everyone should be in a position to support its development as long as we communicate with local people and plan sensibly.”

For more information, contact Minister Canney on 086-2513639
December 27 2019