Wedoany.com Report-Oct 29 ,Construction has officially begun on a major new piece of infrastructure in North Cork that will be part of a growing network to collect and use biomethane gas - turning farm waste into power for homes and businesses.

The €32m facility - the first of its kind in Ireland - will give local farmers the chance to generate biomethane from what was previously farm waste, including manure from livestock, and sell it into the gas network, creating revenue for farming families, generating power from locally sourced fuels and cutting our carbon emissions.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Gas Networks Ireland broke ground on the construction of the new Central Grid Injection (CGI) facility in Mitchelstown over the weekend.

CGI facilities provide injection points for biomethane production sites that may be located remotely from the existing gas network. A key initiative of Gas Networks Ireland, this facility represents a €32m investment and is a transformative step in Ireland’s transition towards renewable energy, enabling the injection of biomethane into the national gas network.

The Mitchelstown CGI will have the capacity to inject up to 700 GWh of renewable biomethane gas annually, contributing approximately 12% of the Government’s 2030 biomethane target. The facility will also reduce national CO₂ emissions by an estimated 130,000 tonnes per year.

Biomethane can be produced and collected on farms, giving farmers the chance to diversify and earn money off waste organic material such as manure from livestock.

Speaking at the sod turning ceremony, Tánaiste Micheál Martin commented on the significance of Gas Networks Ireland’s investment: “This project is a significant development in Ireland’s energy infrastructure, enabling the drive towards decarbonisation, supporting both the government’s commitment to achieving its biomethane production targets by 2030 and the country’s efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.