AS PART of its participation in the Interreg Ivc BIO-EN-AREA Project, the South-East Regional Authority hosted a seminar on Energy Crops, Agricultural & Livestock Biomass recently at the cereals research building in Oak Park, Carlow.
This was a special one-day event, which included expert speakers from the project partner regions in Italy, Sweden, Estonia, Spain and Greece.
The BIO-EN-AREA project aims to move from an over-dependence on fossil fuel sources to renewable energy sources so it meets Kyoto commitments.
Ensuring security of sustainable and competitive energy supplies and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emission levels are to the forefront of the political agenda in each partner region.
The South-East Regional Authority, in co-operation with local stakeholders in the region, was the first Irish region to develop a Regional Bioenergy Implementation Plan in 2008.
Cllr Willie Quinn, chairman of the South-East Regional Authority, opened the seminar, while Barry Caslin, a bio-energy specialist based at Teagasc, Oak Park gave an overview of bio-energy policy development in Ireland.
Bill Madigan from the green energy services firm Kilkenny-based firm Kilogen, addressed the group about his company, which consists of 40 farmers/shareholders, who are energy crop growers, growing mainly miscanthus and willow.
Energy crops such as willow, miscanthus, switch grass, reed canary grass and hemp are grown at Oak Park.
The sun shone while the group was taken on site visits to see the energy crops growing in the fields, the biomass boilers, the Stirling CHP unit and biomass combustion research units, all on-site at Oak Park.
The visits were facilitated by Barry Caslin, Pádraig Brett and Bernard Rice from Teagasc.