Planned Portlaoise waste biogas factory deleted from Laois climate action list

An industrial anaerobic digester planned near Portlaoise has been deleted from the climate action list in the new Laois County Development Plan.

The factory by Bord na Móna will take in animal waste and brown bin waste and convert it to biogas to use instead of the fossil fuel natural gas that is serving the Irish network.

The plan had received multiple objections, from local people, from politicians and An Taisce who described the energy produced as "greenwash" and not sustainable. It was approved by Laois County Council in January 2021 but appeals were then lodged to An Bord Pleanála who have not yet made their decision.  

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Laois County Council has listed it by name as one of the renewable energy industries existing or planned in Laois that when added together help the county meet its green energy target. The list includes windfarms and solar farms, details below. 

They described in detail how the AD would work.

"An Anaerobic Digestor planned for Portlaoise has the potential to use up to 80,000 tonnes of biodegradable waste as feedstock per year, which has a potential Green House Gas emissions saving of 270,160 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

"This project has the potential to produce approximately 7,000,000m3 of biomethane and used as an alternative fuel to fossil fuels for regional energy and heat production.

"The biomethane from the proposed development will be injected into the gas network and it will then form a portion of gas used in the network for residential, commercial and industrial purposes."

However Portlaoise Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald has requested that the named reference be removed, in the meeting to approve the Laois County Development Plan 2021-2027.

"I don't feel comfortable that it's clearly named. Are we rubberstamping it if we agree today?" she said.

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The council's senior planner Angela McEvoy said that permission is not granted for the plant.

Cllr Willie Aird said "it might never go ahead".

The CEO John Mulholland said approval of the naming of the plant in the development plan was "not rubberstamping it".

"We will remove the name and not identify it. Nonoe of us know if these will go to construction or not," he said.

Also listed are Laois' two existing windfarms at Gortahile and Baunagra, and three more with permission, at Rathdowney, Ironmills, and near Ballyroan/Timahoe. That total of 43 turbines is expected to supply 120 megawatts, or 1.5% of Ireland's requirement of 70% renewable energy by 2030. 

Five planned and approved solar energy farms in Laois are also listed. They are in Rathdowney, Mountmellick, Portlaoise, Stradbally and Mountrath. They are expected to supply another 138megawatts when in production.