Turning what was once slurry into gas is a win-win - but it requires investment

Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots said there are already a number of farms producing biomethane which is being translated into electricity but, to go a step further will “involve significant investment”.

During ministerial questions at Stormont, Mr Poots referred to a company that has invested £1.4 million in cleaning up slurry so that it can be used as fuel.

“That is the nature of the costs that are involved,” Mr Poots stated.

“In turning what was once slurry into gas, you remove the methane from the atmosphere and replace a fossil fuel with biomethane to run your vehicles, refrigeration, tractors and to heat people’s homes.
“There is a win-win in that. It requires investment.

“A lot of that investment will come from the private sector, but we need to back that up and be able to help the private sector to deliver it quickly, because it will happen much more slowly than by 2050 if we do not give it that support.

“The necessity to get good capital support from the Department of Finance to deliver on that is critical.”

Fellow DUP MLA, Harry Harvey, then asked the minister if the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains, particularly food production, and the energy crisis that faces Northern Ireland citizens does not, once again, “highlight the important role that farmers play in our society”.

Mr Poots responded: “Food from Northern Ireland has demonstrated over and over again its quality, provenance and traceability.

“We can demonstrate, and with investment ensure, that we have the highest environmental standards anywhere in the world.

“Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that investment can take place and that we can say to people, ‘if you wish to buy food from South America, North America, Australia or wherever, you are not buying food that has the best provenance, quality, animal welfare, animal health, traceability and that, importantly, is not the best for the environment, air miles and food miles’.

“We can meet all those requirements and supply to a local market that is largely within a few hours from Northern Ireland.

“We can do that extremely well,” he ended.