“The Green Deal ain’t going away,” according to Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan.
He made the comments at the ‘Ireland Biomethane Pathway to 2030’ conference at Croke Park yesterday (Wednesday, June 12), where he also highlighted the relevance of biomethane strategies and the European Green Deal.
He discussed its significance for European economic competitiveness, food security, and environmental protection.
Minister Ryan stressed the need for a significant influx of private capital to achieve the objectives set forth by the Green Deal.
“The real question now is, where is the money going to come from?,” the minister said.
“That’s going to be the real issue in the new commission and the new parliament because to meet our objectives, to provide security, to provide competitiveness, to meet our environmental targets, we’re going to require a massive capital injection.”
The minister detailed Ireland’s commitment to biomethane production as a key component of the country’s climate strategy.
He outlined a target for Ireland on this: generating one terawatt-hour (TwH) of renewable gas by the end of next year and 5.7TwH by 2030.
“We have the various conditions to make it work,” Minister Ryan said, indicating that several projects are ready to commence, pending planning permissions.
The minister also discussed environmental considerations and the importance of protecting water quality and air quality to ensure sustainable biomethane production.
“First things first, we protect water quality in any such developments,” the minister said, warning against potential issues such as ammonia pollution from increased intensive farming practices.
Minister Ryan also discussed the strategic use of Ireland’s grassland system in biomethane production, combining it with slurry and other feedstocks.
This approach aims to reduce reliance on artificial nitrogen (N) fertilisers and improve environmental outcomes.
“You’re in a win-win positive feedback loop,” he said.
Minister Ryan
The minister discussed the need for medium-term certainty in funding to attract investment for anaerobic digestion (AD) plants and to ensure the stability of the industry.
“We’re going to provide capital grants support firstly from the RePower EU €40 million,” he continued.
“If you’re looking for investment to come in, you have to give medium-term certainty. It’s not just a year-by-year budget.”
Additionally, Minister Ryan highlighted the introduction of a Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO) aimed at increasing the use of renewable heat sources.
“We’ve done it before in the transport sector, so we know how to do it. We know that this sort of renewable heat scheme works. We need to be fast here,” Minister Ryan concluded.