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.