The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has called on the government to carry out an urgent review of its biomethane and anaerobic digestion (AD) policy.

The chair of the association's Energy for Farms Project Team Frank Brady has claimed that it is "becoming clear that the government’s plans for the roll out of AD are underfunded and not properly thought out".

"Now one of the few operating AD plants in the country is gone into receivership,” he said.

The comments follow confirmation that Green Generation – an Irish company that had use anaerobic digestion (AD) to convert agricultural and food waste to renewable energy – had gone into receivership.

Under the National Biomethane Strategy, the government has set a target for indigenously produced biomethane is up to 5.7 terawatt hours each year by 2030.

Published last May in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the strategy sets out the necessary policy and regulatory measures, and provides a roadmap for developing a biomethane industry of scale in Ireland.

The strategy contains 25 key strategic actions to ensure the necessary supports and infrastructure are in place to develop a biomethane industry of scale.

These supports include capital grant funding, the first round of which has been delivered by DAFM to support the development and upgrading of anaerobic digestion plants throughout 2025.

"We need to see an urgent review of policy, with proper supports in place to get the sector up and running,” Brady said.

“This latest closure will certainly leave potential investors reluctant to develop AD plants.

"Swift action and meaningful engagement between relevant government departments is required,” he added.