Gas Networks Ireland has opened its €32 million Central Grid Injection (CGI) facility in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, giving biomethane producers located too far from the pipeline network a route to supply renewable gas to the national grid.
The company says it is the first facility of its kind in Ireland and Europe, and it was officially opened by Taoiseach Micheál Martin on 2 October.
Biomethane produced at independent anaerobic digestion plants can be delivered to Mitchelstown by trailer, where it is prepared to grid standards and injected into the national network. From there it travels to customers through the existing pipeline infrastructure. The facility is designed to receive renewable gas produced from farm and food waste.
At full capacity, the site can inject up to 700 GWh of biomethane a year, equivalent to around 12 per cent of the government's 2030 target of 5.7 TWh of indigenous biomethane production. Gas Networks Ireland estimates it could also deliver around 130,000 tonnes of CO₂ savings annually.
Martin said the facility marks an important milestone for the industry. "Ireland has set an ambitious target for biomethane production by 2030, and delivering the infrastructure to connect this renewable gas to our national network is a vital element in helping to achieve that goal. This investment also has the potential to create new economic opportunities in the agricultural sector, providing farmers and rural businesses with opportunities to diversify their income while contributing to our climate and energy security objectives."
The Taoiseach added that he was pleased to return to Mitchelstown, having turned the sod on the project in October 2024.
Gas Networks Ireland chief executive David Kelly said the company has seen growing appetite from prospective producers. "What we are seeing is a growing appetite from prospective biomethane producers to develop homemade renewable gas and to bring it onto the national network. Our market engagement has shown us that the potential is significant, and biomethane also has the potential to create new revenue and diversification opportunities, by turning agricultural and organic resources into renewable energy."
Gas Networks Ireland has recently connected two anaerobic digestion plants, in Dublin and Meath, directly to its network, and Kelly said Mitchelstown now offers a route for producers who are not close enough to a pipeline. He added that, together with the Southern Area capacity upgrades already under way, the company's investment in the Munster region will exceed €80 million.
The Irish biomethane sector is expanding quickly. Gas Networks Ireland has signed agreements to connect seven major new producers to its network, including the €35 million College Group biomethane plant in Co Meath and Bia Energy's €90 million biomethane facility in Dublin.
The Mitchelstown facility forms part of the Green Renewable Agricultural Zero Emissions (GRAZE) project, which aims to demonstrate large-scale agricultural biomethane clusters that can be replicated across the country. GRAZE is supported by €8.4 million from the Climate Action Fund. Fingleton White handled design for the Mitchelstown facility, with GMC Utilities Group as construction contractor.
