New planning application lodged for proposed renewable bio gas facility in Tipperary
Planning permission sought for a renewable bio gas facility in Birdhill in north Tipperary
A new planning application has been lodged for a proposed renewable bio gas facility at Thornhill and Annaholty, Birdhill, in north Tipperary.
Annaholty Green Energy Limited is seeking planning permission for a period of ten years for the construction and operation of the biogas renewable energy facility.
The new submission follows an earlier planning application for the same development, which was submitted to Tipperary County Council in October 2025 under planning reference 25/61056.
That application was declared incomplete by the local authority in December 2025.
The council requested further information on traffic and road safety, including the impact of heavy goods vehicles turning from the R445 onto the L94451, and the ability of the local road network to accommodate two-way traffic.
After receiving the notice of incompleteness, a pre-planning meeting was held with Tipperary County Council on the to review the two reasons for incompleteness. Following the pre-planning meeting in January 2026, the applicant has amended the proposal.
The revised application includes provision for a passing bay on the L94451 local road, a Stage 1 Road Safety Audit and a commitment to implement a no right turn policy for heavy goods vehicles entering and leaving the site. The applicant also states that the L6016 local secondary road will not be used by heavy goods vehicles accessing the proposed facility.
Environmental documentation accompanying the application has also been updated to address matters raised during the previous application process, including clarification of the proposed connection to the Gas Networks Ireland network, revisions to traffic and water assessments and updates to environmental impact documentation.
The proposed development includes two primary anaerobic digesters, a secondary digester and storage tank, a digestate storage tank, two manure reception tanks, a desulphurisation unit, pasteurisation and cooling tanks, an external solid input device and a pump room, all located within a containment bund.
The plans also include a feedstock reception hall with an air filtration unit, an underground mixing tank, offices and a workshop, five silage clamps, a storage shed, rainwater harvesting and fire water storage tanks, a plant room, two combined heat and power units with chillers, a dewatering storage building, an ESB substation, a biomethane upgrade unit, a carbon dioxide capture unit and a two-storey administration building containing offices, laboratories and welfare facilities.
The development would also include an LPG compound, an emergency flare, a Gas Networks Ireland biomethane network entry facility kiosk, a firewater retention pond, an infiltration basin, an underground silage clamp tank, boundary treatments and ancillary works, including tree felling and a new site entrance from the L94451.
According to the application, the facility would process about 50,000 tonnes of agricultural feedstocks each year, including farmyard manure, slurry, poultry litter, maize and grass silage.
The applicant states that the raw biogas produced during the anaerobic digestion process would be upgraded to biomethane before being injected into the nearby Gas Networks Ireland network. The proposed facility is expected to generate about 40 gigawatt hours of renewable gas annually.
The application also states that digestate produced during the process would be used as a bio-fertiliser, while carbon dioxide generated during production would be captured and compressed on site for distribution.
Greensource Limited, the parent company of Annaholty Green Energy Limited, states that it has more than 20 years of experience developing renewable energy projects. The company developed what it describes as Ireland's first commercial scale anaerobic digestion plant at Shanagolden, Co Limerick, in 2010.
In its planning documentation, the applicant says the proposed development would support renewable gas production, bio-fertiliser production and carbon dioxide capture while contributing to national and European climate and renewable energy objectives.
Members of the public have until July 29, to make submissions or observations on the application. A decision is due from Tipperary County Council on the planning application by August 19.