Sir, - "In Time's Eye" (June 24th) detailed the possibilities of power from animal waste. There are, as suspected, examples of this technology in Ireland with plants in Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny.
Considering that Irish consumers spend £3 billion per year on energy and that 70 per cent of Ireland's energy is imported, developing Ireland's renewable energy resources offers great potential. Currently only 2 per cent of Ireland's energy is supplied from renewable sources.
The Tipperary Rural and Business Development Institute, which is an innovative development institute with a third level education core, has established a biomass unit with assistance from the EU. The aim of the unit is to encourage the use of biomass as a renewable energy source, an alternative land use and for environmental management. The two staff of the unit have undergone three months intensive training in Denmark and Sweden in anaerobic digestion applications and also short rotation forestry, and now offer training and support services in these fields. - Yours, etc., Clifford Guest
Thurles, Co. Tipperary.