Roadstone is to seek planning permission for a large-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at Killough Quarry, located between Cashel and Thurles in Co Tipperary.

At a public drop-in information session held at the Horse and Jockey Hotel on Tuesday, the company outlined that it will look for planning permission on a 7.1ha site within its existing quarry.

Roadstone said the total biomethane gas production is estimated to be 12,170,000m³, with 8,880,000m³ for net use.

“Roadstone will utilise the finished biofuel to power their plants/machinery at Killough and other centres,” it added.

Feedstock under consideration to fuel the plant are grass silage, maize silage, cattle slurry, chicken manure and high energy biodegradable material.

A planning application is yet to be submitted to Tipperary County Council.

Biomethane strategy

The Government’s National Biomethane Strategy, launched recently, aims to have up to 200 AD plants built by 2030.

By then, the Government wants 5.7 terawatt hours of biomethane gas produced from AD plants, equivalent to 10% of the country’s national gas use today.

The strategy outlines its vision that farmers will supply the bulk of the feedstock and in turn use the digestate from the AD plants.