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The Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) is set to host an event to showcase the potential of biomass to decarbonize industrial heat. The event, which will take place later this month, is targeted at large industrial heat users and aims to provide them with information and updates on biomass resource availability, supply security, sustainability, and environmental considerations.
The event will feature speakers from the Irish government, as well as from organizations such as Green Belt and the Wood Fuel Quality Assurance (WFQA) Scheme. They will discuss the latest advancements in biomass technology and showcase existing industrial heat users who are successfully deploying biomass at scale.
One of the key considerations for industrial heat users is the sustainability of the biomass supply. The event will address this issue by highlighting the complementary nature of biomass production to sustainable forest management practices. Maurice Ryan, business development director at Green Belt, emphasized that biomass from forests is regulated under the sustainability and greenhouse gas saving criteria of the renewable energy directives and by national and EU fuel quality and emission limit values.
Ireland has set ambitious targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions and climate action, and cutting emissions and displacing fossil fuel use in industrial heat is both a significant challenge and opportunity. Seán Finan, CEO of IrBEA, noted that the government is seeking to extend the biomass support under the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH) to the emissions trading sector.
The event is being organized in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Worrell Harvesting, Balcas Energy, and the Wood Fuel Quality Assurance (WFQA) Scheme and is sponsored by SEAI. The event’s objective is to engage with industrial heat users and showcase the potential opportunities provided by biomass to decarbonize their energy use, specifically when solid biomass represents the lowest cost decarbonization option for heating.