Biomass is a slow burner here

THE whine of the chainsaw can still be heard in the countryside as people continue to cut up trees laid low by Storm Darwin more than two months ago. You might say the ferocious storm had a sort of silver lining in that the fallen trees will result in more use of renewable fuel.

But, there will hardly be such a storm every year and the burning of more wood in the coming winter will be the result of an act of nature rather than a deliberate plan to save the planet. The UN has given repeated warnings about the effects of climate change unless the world moves away from the use of oil and coal.

Ireland is among the most oil-dependent countries in the world, with 60% of our energy generated by oil. The target here is to have 40% of our electricity and 12% of heat from renewable energy sources by 2020. But, objections to pylons and wind turbines are becoming major obstacles to government plans for wind energy.

Wood comes under the category of biomass which also includes vegetation, human and animal waste and liquid fuels from crops such as rapeseed. Biomass can be used to make electricity and, even at 7% of the renewable electricity, it will play a small but significant role, according to experts.

Compared to progress with wind generation, biomass is a slow developer here, so there’s a lot of work to be done. Domestic use of biomass fuels is only a small part of the market which would have a focus on wood chips, pellets and shavings, with serious investment in heating plants called for.

Tipperary is showing the way and the county now spends €1.1m on local biomass (wood chip and wood pellet) to heat large sites. Previously, €2.5m would have to be spent on imported oil.

A switch to biomass at six sites in Tipperary has seen 750,000l of oil displaced in 2013, with the annual local economic benefit of heating one site, Thurles Leisure Centre, with woodchip worth over €210,000. Boilers are also in use in five other Tipperary sites.

Paul Kenny, chief executive of Tipperary Energy, says 46 local jobs are supported by biomass heat in the area. Nationally, according to IrBEA (Irish BioEnergy Association), 3,600 could be created by biomass in Ireland if 2020 targets are met.

“Tipperary has proven we can successfully move from imported fossil fuels to sustainable local fuels. As a result, we can create local jobs and save millions. The annual local economic benefit of heating just one site with woodchip is worth €240,000 per annum to the local economy in Tipperary,” he states.