With tensions in the Middle East causing crude oil prices to rise, a co-op’s new woodchip-burning energy plant in Roscommon can cut oil use by 70% and halve carbon emissions, reports Ray Ryan.

CRUDE oil in New York rose to its highest close this year after Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, said it will comply with OPEC production cuts.

CRUDE oil topped $57 a barrel in New York for the first time since April over concern refiners may struggle to meet a fourth-quarter peak in demand for winter fuels.

CRUDE oil futures rose as the approach of Hurricane Ivan disrupted production and the arrival of shipments in the Gulf of Mexico, where a quarter of US oil and natural gas is pumped.

CRUDE oil rose for the third time in four sessions as war in Iraq and civil strife in Nigeria limit shipments from the countries, which normally produce about 6% of the world’s oil.