Centenary Thurles Co-Op has finalised contracts with Cork company, GRO Oil Limited for the sale of a site in Thurles, which has planning permission for a 40,000 tonne bio-diesel processing plant.
Locally grown seed is a strengthening market especially where imported oils such as palm oil are seen as environmentally damaging due to rain forest clearance especially in Asian countries.
It is felt that offering the opportunity to grow alternative crops to farmers will enhance the sustainability of the region and provide a substitute crop for many after the decline of the sugar beet industry.
GRO Oil Chairman, Mossie O’Donovan said: “It was a win-win deal for both Centenary Thurles and GRO Oil as it has allowed both to grow in the future and develop further into the emerging sustainable fuels market”.