Irish semi-state Bord na Mona (BnM) has permanently ceased peat harvesting operations, fulfilling a key pledge of its ‘brown to green’ strategy to become a large-scale renewables developer.
Chief executive Tom Donnellan said the move means the company can now focus on its green energy business, which includes a plan to develop 1GW of new capacity that will be dominated by onshore wind in this decade.
“Today marks the formal end to the company’s association with peat harvesting, as we move on to tackle the critical challenges concerning climate change, energy supply, biodiversity and the circular economy,” he said.
“The brown to green strategy has involved the transformation of Bord na Mona from a traditional peat business into a climate solutions company.
“The progress made over the past two years means we are now fully focused on renewable energy generation, recycling and the development of other low carbon enterprises.”
BnM has already developed a number of wind farms including the 84MW Mountlucas project in County Offaly (pictured).
It is currently building the 86MW Cloncreen, which is also located in Offaly and is expected online in 2022.