𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐃 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝟐𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨
I first became aware of anaerobic digestion in the mid 2000s, at a time when it was barely on the radar in Ireland. Living in Longford, I brought the issue to my local TD at the time, James Bannon, who lived in the same parish as me and was always very accessible.
It was not something he was familiar with, but to his credit, he took it seriously. I told him about the Camphill community in Ballytobin, Co Kilkenny, where a working anaerobic digestion system was already producing energy from farm waste. He went down himself to see it in operation and shortly afterwards raised the issue in the Dáil.
In a Dail debate in November 2007, he spoke about the potential of slurry generated energy to reduce pollution, cut greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to Ireland’s energy needs. At the time, Green Party Leader, Eamon Ryan, then Minister with responsibility for energy. In his reply to James Bannon he acknowledged there was “huge potential” in the area.
Yet, nothing happened.
Despite holding ministerial responsibility for energy between 2007 and 2011, and the Environment from 2020 to 2025, there was no meaningful rollout of anaerobic digestion infrastructure in Ireland.
This is why I find it so frustrating to read in this week’s Irish Examiner Farming supplement that, almost 20 years later, we are only beginning to take the first serious steps.
The report by Stephen Cadogan outlines a new regulatory shift that may finally allow Ireland to scale up its biomethane industry.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities has approved reverse compression technology, which will enable biomethane produced in rural areas to be injected into the national gas grid.
It is an important development, addressing a key technical barrier that has held the sector back for years.
But the scale of what is now required is enormous. Ireland’s biomethane strategy targets 5.7 terawatt hours of production by 2030, yet as recently as 2024, less than 0.1 TWh was being produced from just two facilities. To meet the target, between 140 and 200 anaerobic digestion plants will need to be built.
The potential has always been there. Ireland produces vast quantities of livestock waste every year, material that could be converted into renewable energy instead of contributing to environmental damage. Anaerobic digestion offers the ability to reduce methane emissions, produce cleaner fertiliser, and generate a reliable source of energy for farms and communities.
And this is where the real frustration lies.
For nearly two decades, we have known that this technology could reduce pollution from slurry spreading, protect waterways, and strengthen Ireland’s energy security. We have known that it works, because it has been working in other countries and even in small examples here at home.
Yet the government delayed.
In that time, how much unnecessary pollution entered our rivers and lakes? How much renewable energy went unrealised? And how much more resilient could our energy system be today in the face of the current global crisis if we had acted when this was first raised?
Now, with global energy uncertainty and increasing pressure to meet climate targets, we find ourselves trying to build, in a matter of years, what could have been developed steadily over decades at a fraction of today’s building costs.
There are positive signs. Gas Networks Ireland has said the new system could allow a significant increase in biomethane injection, while private sector projects, such as the partnership between Local Power and Biogest, are beginning to emerge.
Finally moving — but far later than we should have.
Anna Kavanagh is cofounder @MCompassMedia
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