Lobby group mobilise against planned biogas plant in Cootehill

More than 100 people turned out to Nulty’s Lounge last Friday night, November 28, for what locals are calling “the real public meeting” on controversial proposal to build a 40 GWh anaerobic digester in Cootehill.

The gathering - organised in under a week after CycleØ announced that plans for its multi-million-euro plant, capable of producing biomethane for the national gas grid, could be formally lodged before the end of the year. The announcement marked the birth of the ‘Cootehill Bioconcern Group’.

The group’s newly appointed secretary, Trevor Whyte, didn’t mince his words when speaking to the Celt this week.

“Our main intention is to make sure this development doesn’t go ahead,” Mr Whyte declared. “We’re not against biomethane production, but it shouldn’t be put in built-up areas. Where they’re proposing to put it is completely ludicrous,” he opined.

The proposed site lies behind the former Whelan’s shoe factory, just off the main Cavan to Cootehill road - a location Mr Whyte insists sits too close to residential life. Many who attended last week’s meeting voiced fears about air quality, traffic volumes, property devaluation, and the general disruption such an industrial facility might cause.

‘Not good neighbours’

Mr Whyte pointed to real-world experience from Europe and the UK that, he feels, paints a troubling picture of how anaerobic digesters impact surrounding communities.

Biogas is produced by capturing naturally occurring emissions from organic agri-waste via anaerobic digestion (AD), which are cleaned or “upgraded” to remove impurities and create biomethane.

“These facilities do not make good neighbours,” he said. “In summer especially, the smells can be severe, and with prevailing south-southwest winds, it’ll blow straight over the town.”

Mr Whyte has spent several years researching the topic, having had his interest piqued ever since the local development association commissioned a feasibility study for such a project.

‘Test case’

According to Mr Whyte, the potential implications extend far beyond Cootehill’s boundaries. He believes the town is a “test case”.

“This would be the first major one in the region. And with the huge number of pi g units here, we’re a prime target.”

While he acknowledges that biomethane production could bring certain agricultural advantages, he argues those benefits only apply “if it’s put in the proper location”, pointing out that the current gas pipeline runs from Wellman’s in Mullagh to Lakeland Dairies in Bailieborough and onward to Abbott in Cootehill, passing through wide tracts of rural land. To him, such areas make far more sense for a facility of this scale than the outskirts of a town.

Biomethane is a renewable natural gas that is chemically identical to natural gas and can be directly injected into the gas grid to help decarbonise the gas network.

Mr Whyte believes that economics are driving the project. “They want the full government grant,” he said. “If the plant costs €30 million and they get €6 million of that covered. They don’t want to spend it on new roads or putting the plant half a mile off the main road. They want the grant to go into the plant - not the infrastructure,” he claimed.

Cootehill itself, he believes, stands to gain little from the planned development.

“Maybe five or six jobs - seven at most.”

Nationwide push

What troubles the Bioconcern Group most are the wider potential implications. Studies have earmarked Monaghan and Cavan - given their concentration of poultry and pig farming - as key providers of feedstock for anaerobic digesters. The first dry anaerobic digester in Ireland was placed on a poultry and beef farm in Monaghan, and there are plans for another in Carnaross near Kells, Co Meath.

“There’s one proposed for Tullamore. One near Ballymena wants to expand from 40,000 tonnes of chicken litter to 200,000,” he said.

He argues the current financial model for green energy investment encourages scale rather than sustainability.

“They’re depending on government supports - like the wind farms.”

Input versus output

Mr Whyte also raised concerns about the volume of materials required to feed the Cootehill plant. “Around 55 million litres of slurry will be coming into the plant - the equivalent of 22 Olympic-sized swimming pools. They’ll mix it five-parts slurry to one-part grass. But [I think] it should be closer to one-to-one. If they needed 100,000 bales of silage, then people would start asking real questions.”

He claims CycleØ has already spent two and a half years signing up around 80 local farmers to supply the facility.

“They’re way ahead of us,” he believes. “But look, we’ll keep trying. We’ll make our voices heard. The Lord loves an underdog.”

CycleØ has been contacted for comment.

Previously, in communications with the Celt, CycleØ classed the proposed Cootehill plant as medium in size. If delivered, it is expected to generate approximately 40 GWh of biomethane annually - enough to meet the gas needs of about 13,000 Irish homes.

To supply the digester, CycleØ has said it will offer long-term contracts to local farmers for manure, slurry and other agri-waste. Each plant in the company’s Irish portfolio will require up to 90,000 tonnes of feedstock per year to deliver the projected biomethane output.

The planning process could take up to 36 months, followed by a 12- to 18-month construction phase.

In a statement Cycle0 said the company held a “community event” last week for the residents and businesses of Cootehill.

A spokesperson said: “We were pleased to receive and respond to a significant number of questions for our expert presenter panel regarding the plans we presented to build a biomethane plant in Cootehill.”

They added that representatives of the company also held a meeting with elected representatives of the local Municipal District to present an overview of CycleØ’s plans.

They described that meeting as “positive” with a good “exchange of questions and comments”.

The spokesperson adds that it is “normal” for people to have questions regarding AD and biomethane production.

In response, the company has produced a number of videos, articles and a Q&A on its website.

These resources, the spokesperson says, should help to “explain this tried and tested, safe and reliable method for generating renewable gas”.

They pointed out that such developments support delivery of the National Biomethane Strategy of producing 5.7 TWh of indigenous renewable gas in Ireland by 2030.

“We remain available to answer any questions from residents and businesses from Cootehill, who may contact us at any time using the contact details available on our website www.cycle0.com” the spokesperson concluded.

Some locals, however, have criticised what they described as a “so-called public meeting” conducted online.