Plan to increase renewable energy production
The Government’s long-awaited plan to increase the share of indigenous renewable energy available in Ireland is to be unveiled today.
The Ministerial Task Force on Bio-energy is due to present its findings at the annual conference of the Irish Bio-energy Association.
The task force, chaired by Natural Resources Minister Noel Dempsey, was given the job of delivering a co-ordinated inter-departmental action plan on renewable energy.
Members of the group, which held its first meeting in July of last year, include Finance Minister Brian Cowen, Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan, Environment Minister Dick Roche, Transport Minister Martin Cullen and Enterprise Minister Micheal Martin.
Bio-energy is created from converting crops, trees, sawdust, or by-products such as tallow, farm wastes and vegetable oil to produce electricity, transport fuels or heating fuels.
In heating fuels, biomass energy can be considerably less expensive than conventional fuels such as oil.
Bio-energy is being developed to ensure a security of energy supply as well as providing new opportunities for farms and forestry to diversify into the growing of these crops.
Bio-energy has also been heralded as a clean fuel which reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
The Irish Bioenergy Association’s (Irbea’s) conference in the Heritage Hotel in Portlaoise will also hear information on the development of biomass heating, biofuels for transport and the generation of electricity.
