JHM Crops Ltd.

Miscanthus as fuel

JHM is continuously researching new markets for Miscanthus and has been involved in focused lobbying of government departments to support the indigenous biomass industry. Miscanthus is mentioned in the government’s Bioenergy Action Plan as one of the feedstocks that can be taken on by the peat power stations in Ireland that must meet a 30% co-firing target by 2015. This offers the peat and coal power stations the chance to use a long term secure supply of indigenous Miscanthus. JHM are currently working to achieve this goal with the relevant state agencies and have made encouraging progress in this regard meaning that supplying Miscanthus to power stations is becoming a reality rather than a long-term goal. It should be noted that Miscanthus already plays an important role in creating power in UK power stations.
We are confident that Miscanthus will be used in large and small scale boilers and CHP plants providing an environmentally friendly and secure fuel source to farms, businesses and households in Ireland by end of 2010. We have already seen how well biomass such as Miscanthus works as a sustainable source of heat in countries such as Denmark and Austria and there is no reason why we cannot achieve similar success in Ireland. Burning Miscanthus for heat or CHP will result in considerable savings on the heating/energy costs of a commercial or domestic user. The technology is readily available and JHM are happy to advice interested parties on this. JHM currently has a number of ongoing projects in the heat sector in Ireland.