Regional Bio-Energy Implementation Plan for the South-East Region
The South-East Regional Authority has developed a Regional Bio-Energy Implementation Plan for the South-East Region (the Region covers the administrative counties of Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford as well as Waterford City). The plan was launched by Mr. John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford on Friday, 7th March 2008.
The plan is designed to make the South-East the leading Irish region in the use and promotion of bioenergy over the coming years.
The objectives of the plan is to provide a structured framework for all stakeholders in the Region to utilise for coherent development and progress in the area of Bio-Energy, to gather data in relation to the scope and potential for bio-energy development in the Region based on the availability of resources and technology and to identify and reduce barriers to the development of Bio-Energy in the Region.
Background to the Regional Implementation Plan
This is a South-East Regional Authority (SERA) initiative, (the first, and so far the only) Irish Region to prepare such a Plan) in partnership with the local authorities and local energy agencies in the South-East Region, the Environmental Protection Agency, Teagasc and Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI). The project was part-funded by SEI.
Energy policy has become increasingly important in today’s society and ensuring security of sustainable and competitive energy supplies and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emission levels are to the forefront of the political agenda. The location and use of alternative energy sources are paramount to the sustainability of national, regional and local development and competitiveness. Government has stressed the importance of energy policy in view of the crucial role that energy plays in fuelling our growing economy and its key relevance to the management and protection of our environment and our response to climate change.
It is against this background that the SERA, in cooperation with local stakeholders in the region, embarked upon the development of a Bioenergy Implementation Plan for the South-East Region. Recognising the challenges ahead, the key focus of the Plan is to analyse the scope and potential for bioenergy development in the region, to identify and reduce barriers to the development of the sector and to harmonise the planning requirements for bioenergy development across the region.
The key objective of the Plan is to make the South-East a leader in the development of bioenergy in Ireland. The primary aim of the Plan is to promote the sustainable deployment of bioenergy within the South-East Region and to increase the production and consumption of bioenergy within the region. With the active promotion of the Plan by the SERA and its six constituent local authorities the realisation of the plan will deliver important benefits to the Region.
The implementation of the Plan will significantly increase the production and consumption of energy from biomass in the South-East Region. By achieving the targets set out in the Plan the Region will reduce its reliance on imported finite fossil fuels and will benefit from reduced carbon emissions. With a target of 5% of total energy supply from biomass by 2010, increasing to 17% by 2020, the South-East will become more self-sufficient in its energy supply and will create opportunities to support employment creation and regional development.
The Plan assesses the bioenergy resources currently available in the South-East Region and identifies the proven technologies that can be employed for energy generation. The selected technologies were analysed with regard to their viability in the South-East Region and were compared with conventional fossil fuel systems. These analyses showed bioenergy production to be an attractive and viable alternative to energy generated by fossil fuel systems under the current economic climate.
The SERA is assuming responsibility for the co-ordination of the implementation of this Plan. SERA will be assisted in this role by a Steering Committee which will be established within the Region. This Steering Committee will have the responsibility for identifying and securing sources of funding for the successful implementation of the Plan. In particular, the Local Energy Agencies (LEAs) have a key role in implementing the Plan and achieving the regional targets and securing funding for these partners will be crucial step of the Plan.
To assist with implementation of the Plan, a range of key actions have been identified. Each action has been assigned to a particular agency/body within the Region that will have responsibility for overseeing the completion of this item and for reporting progress back to SERA.
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Bio Energy Summary
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Regional Bio Energy Plan
