A new wood-fuelled energy system being installed at the Aurivo dairy ingredients plant at Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon will cut carbon emissions in half through a dramatic reduction in usage of heavy fuel oil.

The €5.5m biomass plant, construction of which gets underway this week, will use 30,000 tonnes of woodchip per annum, all sourced from forests in the west and north west. It will result in the annual displacement of almost five million litres of heavy fuel oil.

With a capacity of 15 tonnes of biomass, the plant is the first of its kind in the west and Aurivo will become the first large scale milk processor in the country to switch to biomass as a source of energy.

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The new plant, which will be operational in April 2014, will have an output of 15Mw of steam energy. Ultimately, it will be developed into a combined heat and power (CHP) plant and, by 2016, Aurivo plans to be exporting energy into the national electricity grid.

Aurivo chief executive Aaron Forde said the new plant provides a long-term, sustainable energy solution for its dairy ingredients business, which is supplied by 1,000 dairy farmers in the west, north west and midlands.

"As well as cutting carbon emissions, it will also result in energy savings. The move to biomass is an integral part of our commitment to Bord Bia's ‘Origin Green’ sustainability charter. As a major food exporter, sustainable systems must be at the core of all stages in the production and manufacturing chain," said Mr Forde.

The plant was designed and manufactured by Irish company, HDS Energy. Based in Kells, Co Meath, HDS has designed, manufactured and installed boiler systems for companies including Intel, Wyeth and Guinness Ireland.

The components, weighing over 200 tonnes, were transported over two nights last weekend from Kells to Ballaghadereen in a Garda-escorted convoy. Assembly will get underway this week when a 500-tonne crane will arrive at the Aurivo plant in Ballaghadereen.

(CD)