In early January 2016 IrBEA is moving from the current office in Carlow to a new base at Dublin City University Alpha (formerly called DCU Innovation Campus). While the Carlow office has served the association well, the new premises provides a more dynamic environment to explore opportunities for collaboration and communication, for example with DCU education, campus companies and with IrBEA members. A new phone number will be notified shortly. The new address is: Unit 104, DCU Alpha, Old Finglas Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11, D11KXN4
Reports on world Waste to Energy (WtE) and AD/Biogas markets
/in Biogas & Anaerobic DigestionVisiongain has published a 2015 report on energy-from-waste (EfW) companies, which ranks and profiles the 25 leading operators of waste-to-energy plants in the 244 million tonnes per annum global market. There’s a second new report on the Global Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Market 2016-2026: Forecasts for Anaerobic Digester Facilities with Agricultural and Waste Feedstocks for Biogas Production
DAFM land availability for forestry – report launch
/in All NewsPrepared by the Council for Forest Research and Development (COFORD), this Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine report launched on 14 January outlines the physical land resource that is potentially available for afforestation and makes a series of recommendations on how to increase the level of planting. The report states: “On lands classified as being ‘limited’ for agriculture, representing 1.8 million hectares, there is wider scope for afforestation. These lands have a higher proportion of difficult soils, often economically marginal for agriculture, with forestry presenting a viable alternative land use option.” See press release and link to document
CER Review of Connection and Grid Access Policy
/in REFIT & Grid SectionThe CER has published aConsultation Paper on the Review of Connection and Grid Access Policy. It initiates a review of existing connection policy and requests views on the CER’s proposals for the enduring connection policy regime which will be developed over the course of 2016 and on proposals for transitional arrangements to be decided upon in early 2016. IrBEA has asked Tom Bruton/BioXL to lead and coordinate the following work in regard to written consultation process:
* Draft document prepared for member circulation by 20th January
* Deadline for direct IrBEA member feedback 5pm 26th January
* Document finalised and submitted by 29th January (CER deadline)
Consultancy for System Operator to support Grid Development in Northern Ireland
/in Press ReleasesSONI, the System Operator for Northern Ireland, is seeking to appoint a specialist consultancy to manage and provide Pre-Application Community Consultation services, to support its Grid Development team with a number of transmission project planning applications in Northern Ireland. This is in relation to The Planning (Development Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 which are in operation since 1st April 2015. Full details here
Veolia – Power Plant Process Engineer
/in Press ReleasesVeolia job opportunity – Power Plant Process Engineer. See details on LinkedIn
COP21 Paris agreement on Climate Change
/in All NewsThe Paris agreement on Climate Change is historic, but the text is complicated, and so what does it actually mean? Here’s theEuropean Commission summary. The Guardian in the UK sheds some clarity on the high-level/macro meaning. This Irish Independent article outlines what was agreed by the 195 countries, while a second Irish Indo article examines the implications for the agri-food sector. And for those of you with time on your hands, here’s the full downloadable agreement from the UNFCCC website.
IrBEA move to Dublin office – DCU Alpha
/in All NewsIn early January 2016 IrBEA is moving from the current office in Carlow to a new base at Dublin City University Alpha (formerly called DCU Innovation Campus). While the Carlow office has served the association well, the new premises provides a more dynamic environment to explore opportunities for collaboration and communication, for example with DCU education, campus companies and with IrBEA members. A new phone number will be notified shortly. The new address is: Unit 104, DCU Alpha, Old Finglas Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11, D11KXN4
REFIT 3 change document
/in REFIT & Grid SectionDCENR updated some REFIT 3 rules on 16 December. This document sets out amendments that have been incorporated into the REFIT 3 Terms and Conditions for clarification purposes. The main document has been changed and although it doesn’t show up in a search on the DCENR website, the changes can be found through the IrBEA database here
IrBEA response to REFIT3 Consultation
/in All News, REFIT & Grid Section, SubmissionsOn initial reading it appears the REFIT3 consultation document (notified to Members in an email 7 July as below) is largely a house keeping exercise. We noted that no changes were proposed around the HECHP requirements, or the rates – responses need to be made.
IrBEA has prepared a draft response to this consultation, led by Nick Rackard (Aughrim Energy & Chair of IrBEA’s Grid and REFIT Group). Draft response is available here.
Key findings and best practices from the Rokwood Project supporting short rotation plantations
/in Energy CropsRokwood was an ambitious three-year, six-country study which aims to make the regionally based production of woody biomass economically attractive, technically feasible and environmentally sustainable. Funded by the European Commission, Rokwood focuses on researching the development, implementation, monitoring and utilisation of woody crops grown in short rotation plantations (SRPs). The project has come to an end but all the resources and research can be found at http://www.rokwood.eu/ The final report from this project can be found here