Bord na Móna - Source Issue 7 - (Page 9)

‘‘ “Bord na Móna drove the peat agenda in ireland for 75 years. We can noW drive the Bio-crop industry going forWard” John O’Halloran, Biomass Manager the groWer farmer paul o’Brien is enthusiastic about growing willow. a cereal farmer in carbury, co. kildare, he planted nine hectares with willow earlier this year. “Because we grow barley, we already had most of the machinery for ploughing and thinning,” he says, adding that Bord na Móna arranged for a planter from northern ireland to plant the willow seedlings. “next year, it will be pruned and there will be a harvest in year three and then every second year after that, so there will be 10 harvests over the course of our contract with Bord na Móna.” as well as being innovative in adopting a new crop, growing willow adds up for paul. “When we did the sums, the yields from willow will equate to a good average on barley over time with the certainty of price,” he says, adding that the advice and support offered by Bord na Móna has been of huge assistance. Bord na Móna and a new culture for farmers. “on advice from teagasc, we need good land to produce good willow. so we turned down over 1,000 acres of land because some farmers were only making poor, marginal land available to us. that’s why we don’t grow willow ourselves – the cutaway bogs would only produce 1.5 dry tonnes of willow per hectare, whereas good agricultural land would yield 10 dry tonnes per hectare.” this is a huge opportunity for Bord na Móna to build on its history of innovation. “We’re synonymous with the development of machinery for peat; we’re experts in logistics, harvesting machinery and transportation equipment,” says John. “there’s a great opportunity to improve the planting equipment and to look at optimising the harvesting to reduce the cost to the farmer.” indeed, even the propagation of willow needs research and development. “We’re using clones from sweden and england at the moment and, in propagation, there is research required to optimise ‘‘ ReSouRceful WilloW in numbers 10 farmers growing willow for Bord na Móna 200 acres planted in spring 2011 1500 acres in ireland planted with willow those clones for use in irish soil. so, the entire interaction with willow, from propagation through to planting, loading and transporting, affords opportunities to optimise the process.” Bord na Móna is offering farmers a 20 year contract (because a willow crop is only produced every second year) with guaranteed index-linked prices. “for farmers it represents a new way of farming, a new crop and a new approach to locking their land in to the same crop for 20 years. it also represents a strategic way of thinking for farmers at a time when the price of commodities, such as cereals, feed, beef and sheep prices, are high. But that may not last forever. so we’re encouraging farmers to think strategically.” some of Bord na Móna’s strategic thinking comes from donal Mcguinness, procurement specialist at group procurement. it is donal’s job to source biomass products. sawmill residue – sawdust and wood chippings – along with pulp wood and wood pellets are all sourced in ireland. “We source the ‘rocket fuel’ from abroad: palm kernel shells from indonesia and we’re looking at a West africa consignment, almond shells from spain, cocoa shells, soya hull pellets and rape seed,” he says, adding that they have a free hand to investigate biomass fuels that are compatible with peat boilers. “When we find a potential source, we get samples tested in a specialist laboratory for chlorine, sulphur, sodium potassium and ash formation. the boiler cannot tolerate high levels of chlorine, so that assessment is very important, as is ensuring that the trialled products are free of contaminants. once a source is accepted, it’s then my job to get long-term contracts at the best price.” questions for more info, see Bord na Móna energy on www.bordnamona.ie/ biomass S www.bordnamona.ie Source | 9 http://www.bordnamona.ie/biomass http://www.bordnamona.ie/biomass http://www.bordnamona.ie

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bord na Móna - Source Issue 7

Bord na Móna - Source Issue 7
Contents
A Round-Up of News from Around the Company
Willow Harvest for Farmers
New Approach, New Business
Strategic Growth and Development
Challege and Change
Anua Beginning
Raging Inferno
Mapping a Sustainable Future
Project Update
Heritage Corner
Nationwide

Bord na Móna - Source Issue 7