Kildare’s biomethane could replace all the natural gas consumed in the county, report says

All of the biomethane produced within County Kildare could replace all the natural gas consumed in the county, according to a new report.

This finding comes from the Biomethane Energy Report, which was launched last week by Gas Networks Ireland (GNI), the operator of Ireland’s state-owned gas network, at the Irish Renewable Gas Conference in Dublin.

The report found that Kildare has the potential for a biomethane industry which would produce enough renewable gas to not only replace all of the natural gas consumed by the 37,000 homes and businesses in the county connected to the 898 kilometres of gas network in the county, but it would also produce a surplus of the county’s gas needs (and also reduce carbon emissions by over 670,000 tonnes annually).

It also found that, on a national scale, Ireland has the potential for a biomethane industry, which would replace more than a quarter of natural gas on the national network, create significant new agri-income streams and reduce Ireland’s total emissions by almost four million tonnes per year — 6.5 per cent of Ireland’s total emissions.

Defining biomethane, the report said: "Structurally identical to natural gas, biomethane is a carbon neutral renewable gas derived from organic sources such as landfill, food waste and agricultural waste. 

"Biomethane is fully compatible with the existing national gas network and existing appliances, technologies and vehicles.

"It seamlessly replaces natural gas to reduce emissions in heating, industry, transport and power generation."

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The report is based on findings from responses to a market testing Request for Information (RFI) issued by Gas Networks Ireland to current and future biomethane producers in October 2022.

It identified 176 projects throughout Ireland that have the overall potential to produce 14.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of biomethane per annum, amounting to 26 per cent of Ireland’s current gas demand.

The top five counties in terms of prospective biomethane production volumes were Cavan, Kildare, Limerick, Cork and Monaghan. 

With 13 responses, the fourth highest number of potential biomethane production projects and the second highest biomethane ambition in terms of volume at 2,527 Gigawatt hours (GWh), are in Kildare.

GNI's Chief Executive Officer, Cathal Marley, said about the report: "The findings published in our report send out a strong signal that there is both interest in and demand for, biomethane production in Ireland. 

"The appetite is there to produce enough biomethane to replace 26 per cent of the natural gas currently consumed in Ireland.

"This is more than two and a half times greater than the State’s current biomethane 2030 CAP Target (5.7 TWh), and it is also more energy than will be procured from Ireland’s first offshore wind auction, ORESS-1, which took place earlier this year."

GNI’s Biomethane Programme Manager, Padraig Fleming, also gave his views on the report's findings: "We first introduced domestically produced biomethane into Ireland’s gas network over three years ago via the country’s first renewable gas injection point in Cush, County Kildare.

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"The quantity, while small to begin with, is increasing in line with government ambitions."

He continued: "However, Ireland has a real opportunity to develop a biomethane industry at scale.

"This will be a significant step on the road to decarbonising Ireland’s energy system as well as the overall economy and will also offer numerous benefits for the agricultural economy, through the decarbonisation of the agri-food sector."

However, a new biomethane industry in Ireland, as with any emerging sector, will face challenges that must be overcome.

Elaborating on this point, GNI said: "While the first Irish policy support for biomethane is in development, it is essential that it provides a framework that delivers long-term price certainty for biomethane producers and ensures that the planning and permitting process is aligned to the specific needs of the sector.

"The next significant step of Gas Network Ireland’s biomethane journey will be the development of a contract and tender process for the procurement of biomethane for its own use.

"This is aimed at replacing up to 50 per cent of the gas we currently use in Ireland to operate the system."

The organisation continued: "In 2022, Ireland’s gas network transported 57.1 TWh of energy to Irish industries and households annually. This is almost twice the energy transported by the electricity grid at 32 TWh last year.

"If Ireland is to reach its climate action goals, the gas network needs to be decarbonised, and biomethane will play a significant role in this process."

"Gas Networks Ireland is working to replace natural gas with renewable gases, such as biomethane today, and hydrogen in the future, on Ireland’s existing gas infrastructure, which will help to substantially reduce Ireland’s carbon emissions while ensuring a secure energy supply, in the least disruptive most cost-effective manner," GNI concluded.