Bord na Móna - Source Issue 12 - (Page 10)
A BUMPER HARVEST, NEW FACES ON THE BOARD, WIND ENERGY PLANS, AND MERGER
TALKS - THESE ARE BUSY TIMES FOR BORD NA MÓNA AND CEO GABRIEL D'ARCY
A BRIGHT FUTURE
BECKONS
Q
What have been the key
developments in Bord na
Móna since your last interview
in the Source Summer 2012
magazine?
The fact that the peat harvest in 2012 was the
worst in living memory made us realise how
much we rely on peat. But we made the difficult
decisions necessary to get through that period.
Then, after the hard work put in by Feedstock
in preparing the bogs and equipment to get
out early, the dry spring and good summer, we
had a record harvest in terms of the quality and
quantity of peat. So, we made up fully the losses
from last year.
Elsewhere, Resource Recovery turned a
corner after a difficult few years where the
economy collapsed and the structure of the
industry needed to be reshaped. All the staff
there deserve applause for staying calm during a
difficult time - Resource Recovery is now based
in Newbridge and adds to the commerciality of
the company.
2013 will also be known as the year when
Bord na Móna launched our 2GW Clean Energy
Hub, the most significant development in the
10 | Source Winter 2013
company's history. It brings together our
core skills and competencies, our landbank,
peatland engineering, and PowerGen's
capabilities. It shows a market-oriented
approach where we're looking at the energy
market in the UK and delivering a project
of scale to meet that market demand.
Meanwhile, our projects in Mount Lucas and
Bruckana are focused on the Irish grid. These
are significant onshore projects, designed,
built, financed and operated by Bord na Móna.
Q
Wind farm developments
have caused controversy,
particularly in the midlands.
What is your view on that?
I feel that people need to consider three
interlocking factors. Ireland has the best wind
resource of any Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD)
or Western European country, so that's a
resource we can leverage. In addition, the
technology has moved ahead in leaps and
bounds in terms of capturing and converting
wind into electricity. Twenty one years ago,
when we opened the 7.5MW Oweninny wind
farm, the turbines were 30 metres in height
with a rated output of 330KW. Today, in
Mount Lucas and Bruckana, the turbines are
100 metres high with a rated output of 3MW,
so they're more efficient.
Thirdly, nobody wants massive turbines at
every crossroads, which is why they should
be located away from population centres
and in locations with a good wind resource.
Uniquely, Bord na Móna has large expanses
of land far away from conurbations and a lot
of property adjacent to our land is away from
population centres. We have the landmass,
the technology, and the wind resource, so
it's logical for Bord na Móna to develop our
post-industrial peatlands.
In relation to any health concerns about
wind farms, we have operated a commercial
wind farm for 21 years in Bellacorrick, Co.
Mayo. We have no record, to my knowledge,
of medical complaints in relation to that
wind farm, nor am I aware of any scientific
accepted evidence of any health risks
associated with wind farms. But I can accept
that different people will have different issues
with wind turbines and their location.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bord na Móna - Source Issue 12
Bord Na MóNa - Source Issue 12
Contents
News
Brown Gold
A Bright Future Beckons
Clean Energy Hub
A Good Year
Game On!
Sales Force
Project Update
Heritage Corner
Nationwide
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