October 21st, 2019 A European scientific academy has warned that the EU’s large-scale substitution of fossil fuels with forest biomass may lead to the bloc overshooting its climate targets. A paper from the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) published this month in Global Change Biology indicates that there is Read more…
July 23rd, 2019 An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for the ESB to convert its peat plant at Shannonbridge in Co Offaly to co-fire with biomass due to biodiversity and climate concerns. The decision from the planning authority puts a major dent in the semi-state’s plans to change the set-up Read more…
April 17th, 2019 Three national environmental groups have raised concerns over plans for ESB’s peat plants at a hearing into the semi-state’s plans to co-fire biomass with peat at one of the Midlands stations. Appearing at an An Bord Pleanala oral hearing in Tullamore yesterday, Friends of the Irish Environment Read more…
September 14th, 2018 The burning of biomass fuels in Irish homes is leading to “extraordinarily” high levels of air pollution, a new Irish-led study has found. The study led by NUI Galway found Particulate Matter (PM2.5) – smog, smoke and haze particles smaller than 2.5 microns –in excess of World Health Read more…
August 21st, 2018 An environmental NGO has asked the European Commission to investigative the Irish Government’s decision to subsidise large-scale biomass burning at its peat-fired power stations. In letters to the European Commissioner for Climate Action, Miguel Arias Cañete, and Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan, Friends of the Irish Environment claims that the subsidy undermines Ireland’s commitments to Read more…
August 20th, 2018 Farmers in the UK and across continental Europe have been able to avail of opportunities from renewable energy for several years now. Meanwhile, it has been frustrating to watch the extremely slow progress made to date on climate and energy in Ireland as policies take an excessive Read more…
August 24th, 2017 A lack of concrete details on the long-awaited Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme has left little confidence in the establishment of a robust energy crop sector, the IFA’s renewables chairman has said. James Murphy’s comments came at Tuesday’s Energy in Agriculture conference in Gurteen Agricultural College, Co Tipperary. Environmental Read more…
Image: Drax Power Station September 21st 2016 Plans to convert Ireland’s three peat-fired power stations to biomass will be forced to rely heavily on imports. The Sunday Times reported last weekend that imports of biomass such as wood pellets until at least 2020 but it is conceivable that significant imports Read more…
