Mitchelstown renewable gas facility receives planning permission

Gas Networks Ireland has been granted permission by An Bord Pleanála for a proposed development of a renewable gas injection facility near Mitchelstown in Co. Cork, supporting the original planning permission granted by Cork County Council in May 2020. 

The new facility will have the capacity to receive renewable gas produced from farm and food waste from multiple local producers. It has the potential to heat up to 64,000 homes when operating at full capacity, while also supporting the decarbonisation of local agriculture.

The facility will enable the establishment of a sustainable renewable gas industry in the region, which will provide local jobs and additional revenue from sources such as the sale of feedstocks used to generate renewable gas, the sale of a bio-fertiliser by-product of renewable gas production that can be used as a sustainable alternative to chemical fertiliser, and renewable gas.

Gas Networks Ireland’s Head of Asset Management, Bobby Gleeson, said:

“The Mitchelstown injection facility is an important step in replacing the natural gas on the network today, with sustainably produced, carbon neutral renewable gas which is entirely compatible with the existing gas infrastructure.

“The facility positions Cork, and in particular the Mitchelstown area, at the forefront of enabling sustainable circular economies that will help decarbonise Ireland’s gas network and reduce emissions across a number of key sectors, including agriculture.

“We would like to thank the local community for their support of this project and both Cork County Council and An Bord Pleanála for their approval of this important development.”

Producing renewable gas from farm and food waste is a key feature of the EU Green Deal Farm to Fork Strategy, which provides a roadmap for a sustainable, healthy and equitable food system.

The Mitchelstown facility is part of the GRAZE Gas project, short-listed for funding by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications under the Climate Action Fund.