Krunchie with Yachts

Krunchie with Yachts

Proinnsias - Krunchie As

"Proinnsias" sounds the same as "Krunchie as," except with a P instead of a K. Christened "Francis Killeen," he adopted the Irish form of this name "Proinnsias Ó Cillín." ("Cillín," which means "treasure," sounds exactly the same as "Killeen"). Some people have difficulty pronouncing "Proinnsias," and some children called him "Krunchie," a nickname that stuck.

Urban Biomass


According to Mayo News (24 Mayo 2011) the former Asahi factory in Killala has become a Biomass burning power station – Ireland’s largest independent biomass power plant - and the farmers of Mayo are able to sell timber and farm waste to the station. “We aim to be a model for other communities throughout Ireland and Europe,” (per Renewable Power, Mayo).

April 2014 saw the opening of another biomass plant in the West – at the Aurivo dairy ingredients plant in Ballaghadereen, County Rosocmmon, (producers of “Connacht Gold”). Besides reducing costs of the creamery by providing for its own energy needs, by 2016 this plant will be exporting energy to the national grid. “As well as cutting carbon emissions, it will also result in energy savings,” says Aaron Forde, Aurivo’s chief executive officer.


The farmers in the west are paid good money for their biomass product. Employment is also provided for local job-seekers.
 
Now the kerbs and gardens of Dublin produce an immense amount of biomass. In addition we produce tons of biomass in the form of household waste. Why are we not offered money in return for the right to take our garden cuttings and household waste to burn as biomass? Why are we, instead, charged to have this valuable material taken away?

I saw a farmer negotiating the felling of a tree. The contractor agreed to fell the tree, chop it into logs and stack the logs in the farmer’s fuel barn, all in return for the right to take a share of the logs. No money passed hands: the logs were treated as money-value. My urban neighbour, on the other hand, had to pay twice to part with his tree: first for the felling and second to take the timber away. Why was he not offered money for the timber and the right to fell the tree?

Urban biomass could be treated as a valuable product and used to generate electricity, provide jobs, reduce carbon emissions and reduce our reliance on imports, the citizens being paid for the product, rather than penalised as at present.

 

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