Bioenergy is energy derived from material such as wood, plants, animals and waste. The drafting of a new national bioenergy strategy is currently underway by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
According to the Environmental Pillar, three major concerns need to be addressed in the new strategy:
- Supporting local biomass energy production for heat and electricity using sustainable methods;
- Promoting energy production from anaerobic digestion; and
- Removing subsidies for the use of biofuels in transport.
The potential positive impacts of the first two key recommendations are equally compelling, according to Michael Ewing, spokesperson for the Environmental Pillar.
‘Local energy initiatives will create investment in local jobs and will give farmers an added incentive to use sustainable agroforestry as another income source,’ he said.
‘Promoting anaerobic digestion is just a no-brainer. We produce a million tonnes of food waste in Ireland each year, and about 40 million tonnes of slurry from farms. Let’s use this waste as a sustainable, renewable energy source.’
‘If incentives for biofuel production continue, we’ll see increasing intensification of agriculture as well as loss of natural spaces like border strips and hedgerows. We can’t sustain that kind of biodiversity loss without it impacting on our daily lives in the long term,’ Mr Ewing continued.
The Environmental Pillar’s submission to the public consultation on the new national bioenergy strategy can be downloaded here Environmental_Pillar_Submission_on_-Bioenergy_Strategy
