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.
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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