The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) says the Northern Ireland Energy Summit held on 21 June, confirms the key role that local agriculture has to play as we work to create the pathway to a renewable future. The event, organised by Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE), focused on how to appropriately move NI forward to meet renewable targets and net-zero ambitions while driving economic growth and establishing a sustainable green energy sector.
Speaking after the summit UFU rural enterprise chair John Watt said, “As an industry, agriculture has had to fight tooth and nail, overcoming endless barriers in relation to renewables. We have made a positive impact to date helping to generate renewable energy locally but are only scratching the surface. NI agriculture can do so much more and has not come close to reaching its full potential.”
At the summit, Professor David Rooney director of CASE and Dean of Internationalisation and Reputation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University, launched CASE’s policy paper ‘A Pathway to our Renewable Future’. He outlined that renewables is key in terms of separating emissions and growth, and that agriculture is best placed to do this.
“Professor Rooney explained that renewables could provide a complementary side occupation for agriculture becoming an integral part of many farm businesses going forward. Conventional farming could work alongside the energy sector becoming a significant low carbon energy provider, helping to meet NI’s energy needs in the future. Biogas is a prime example where secondary processes enables waste heat to be utilised and which then creates potential for nutrient recovery,” said Mr Watt.
