View of the current Drehid landfill site in Co Kildare
Bord na Móna is to build a landfill-gas power plant in Co Kildare that will utilise landfill gas produced from the decomposition of waste to generate electricity. It expects that up to 25 construction jobs will be created once the building of the plant starts later this year.
Once it is operational in 2014, Bord na Móna said the waste gas-to-power project will produce 5.6MW of renewable electricity, enough to power 14,000 homes.
The plant will be located in the Drehid Landfill site near Allenwood, Co Kildare. Once it is built, its ongoing operation will create between three and four permanent jobs.
Gas is continually produced from the decomposition of waste in the landfill site and is currently safely flared. Bord na Móna said the project will use four gas engines, each rated at 1.4MW electrical output, to deliver 5.6MW of renewable electricity.
“This is a very exciting project for the company that underlines how jobs and business activity in Bord na Móna can be directly supported by renewable-energy projects,” said John Daly, head of resource recovery at the semi-state body.
He added that the Drehid project will substantially reduce emissions of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas when released directly into the atmosphere.
