The backers of a €75 million anaerobic digestion plant proposed for north Co Cork have said industries in Munster may face closure under EU legislation unless facilities are put in place to manage biodegradable waste.
Under EU directives, the amount of nitrates and slurry farmers may spread on land is set to reduce significantly, while costs for energy are likely to rise.
Similarly, the cost of disposing of industrial biodegradable wastes currently shipped abroad are increasing, according to Bioverde, a company within the Greenstar/National Toll Roads group.
The group is seeking planning permission and an Environmental Protection Agency licence to build an anaerobic digestion plant between Mitchelstown and Fermoy, which the company claims would handle 250,000 tonnes of non-hazardous organic waste a year and generate 32MW of electricity.
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, John Mullins, chief executive of Bioverde, said that, without the facility, farmers and producers of industrial sludges in Munster were in danger of being put out of business under increasingly strict EU legislation. Anaerobic digestion plants were, he said, already well-established in Europe and the US.
Cork County Council has, however, refused planning permission for the facility - but that decision is under appeal to An Bord Pleanála. "It will get to the stage where, if we can't manage our waste, industries will be forced to close," warned Mr Mullins.
