Cork's €80m biomethane plant to cut emissions by 40,000 tonnes next year

New plant will deliver more than 80GWh of renewable biomethane annually to the national grid, making it Ireland's largest biomethane facility processing municipal food and garden waste

The Little Island biomethane facility will produce sustainable biofertilisers by recycling nutrients from food waste, supporting more sustainable farming and food production.

Cork's new biomethane plant is set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year when it opens next year. 

Set to be operational in 2027, Stream BioEnergy, the owner and operator of renewable bigas facilities in Ireland and the UK, said the €80m plant will process 90,000 tonnes of domestic and commercial food and garden waste per year.

It will also deliver more than 80GWh of renewable biomethane annually to the national grid, making it Ireland's largest biomethane facility processing municipal food and garden waste.

As well as producing renewable gas that will replace the use of fossil fuels in hard-to-abate sectors such as heating and transport, the facility will produce sustainable biofertilisers by recycling nutrients from food waste, supporting more sustainable farming and food production.

The project is being built under a contract by Kanadevia Inova AG, formerly Hitachi Zosen Inova, and Coffey Group, one of Ireland’s largest construction companies. Centrica’s Bord Gáis Energy has secured the gas off-take contract for the facility, while some of the largest national and regional waste collection companies will supply waste to the facility.

Funding for this project has been provided by Pioneer Infrastructure Partners and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with whom Stream recently completed a portfolio-level debt raise of more than €75m. Kanadevia Inova has also taken a minority stake in the project.

Stream said that a significant proportion of the €80m capital spend will be directed to local civil, mechanical and electrical contractors and, once operational, the facility is expected to generate around €4m in annual local expenditure. 

The project will create more than 100 construction jobs and more than 20 permanent operational roles at the facility, along with a range of jobs across the project supply chain.

Kevin Fitzduff, Co-Founder of Stream BioEnergy, commented: “At a time when Ireland is under enormous pressure to decarbonise its heat and transport sectors, we are proud to have started construction on one of Ireland’s largest biomethane facilities."

"This project will significantly contribute to Ireland’s decarbonisation efforts and make the country a more energy secure environment in which to live and conduct business.