The Government is to promote the incineration of waste products in existing power stations through financial subsidies as part of a new plan to reduce the State's reliance on fossil fuels.
Under the proposals in its new bio-energy plan, up to 140,000 tonnes of meat and bone meal, along with an unspecified amount of organic waste, would be used as an alternative to peat in a number of power stations around the State.
The financial support system proposals also aim to promote the use of biomass crops such as elephant grass and willow as an alternative to peat in existing power plants.
Under the proposals, new incinerators which produce electricity will also be entitled to claim subsidies for the power generated by organic waste burned in them.
The bio-energy action, launched yesterday, sets a target of 33 per cent for renewable electricity by 2020 and includes plans for stricter energy regulations for homes, additional funding for wave and wind energy research and requiring all new CIÉ-owned buses to be able to run on a mix of bio and fossil fuels.
Ministers yesterday rejected suggestions that the bio-energy action plan was part of a strategy aimed at insulating the Government in the run-up to the general election against claims it had failed to make a priority of environmental issues in the last five years.
The plan is the latest in a series of environment-related announcements by the Government and comes in advance of its White Paper on energy, which is to be published by Easter.
The promotion of the use of biomass crops and meat and bone meal to generate electricity is to be achieved through a subsidy system based on the amount of power produced from renewable sources, called Refit, the renewable energy feed in tariff.
The financial incentive will now be available to allow existing plants, such as the peat-fired power stations at Lough Ree and Shannonbridge, to burn meat and bone meal and other organic waste products as an alternative to coal.
The Department of Natural Resources has estimated that such a move could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 273,000 tonnes a year, through reducing the amount of peat burned by 322,000 tonnes.
Meat and bone meal, which is currently being exported for disposal at a cost of €50 million a year, is considered to have zero emissions as it is a renewable organic waste by- product.
However the proposals could face local opposition in light of previous campaigns against the incineration of meat and bone meal.
Edenderry power plant in Co Offaly, now owned by Bord Na Móna, has permission to burn meat and bone meal but has yet to do so in the face of strong opposition.
Plans for a meat and bone meal incinerator in Co Tipperary also collapsed four years ago against a backdrop of local protest.
Launching the plan yesterday, Minister for Natural Resources Noel Dempsey said the plan was a key element to long-term plans to tackle climate change, and would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to two million tonnes when implemented fully.
"It represents Government efforts to take a major challenge, face it and provide a sustainable solution."
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche defended the Government's record on tackling climate change, in the face of continued criticism from opposition and environmental groups about the ongoing rises in greenhouse gas emissions.
This was "neither objective nor fair", he said, adding that the targets set in the plan far exceeded current EU targets.
"The reality is that we're now introducing the most ambitious targets in the world for electricity generation from renewables."