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  • Claire McNab2legged@mastodon.ie
    Oct 16, 2026, 12:27 PM

    @sheddi An old pal grows ~8 acres of short-cycle coppiced willow to heat his holiday cottages. His 2-year cycle is not an indefinite wait.

    He hasn't eliminated diesel from the harvesting, but no longer burns it for heat. His total energy usage has shifted from 100% fossil to ~99% renewable.

    You excluded all #biomass from the renewable category, which is false.

    Have you calculated the fossil-vs-renewable energy mix of the imported bio fuel you lament?

    @BashStKid @robhawkes @ChrisMayLA6

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Replies

  • BashStKidBashStKid@mastodon.online
    Oct 16, 2026, 12:52 PM

    @2legged @sheddi @robhawkes @ChrisMayLA6 Folks, I think we’re all pulling in the same direction here.
    Sheddi, if your key point is that Drax is an abomination, and a lot of EU biomass is not far behind, I’d agree with you.
    Claire, your point boils down to any energy source has to pass some kind of carbon and sustainability audit, which your friend’s does, but most large scale biomass schemes don’t.

    I’d add that if Ireland would adopt such auditing, you could stop LNG imports as well.

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  • Claire McNab2legged@mastodon.ie
    Oct 16, 2026, 1:13 PM

    Yes, @BashStKid, audit is needed. But even the massively-flawed Drax biomass is better than its former 100% fossil fuel.

    Biomass isn't simple like solar or gas: it needs case-by-case evaluation, not blanket condemnation or unqualified praise. In general, I think biomass is best when it's small-scale.

    @sheddi @robhawkes @ChrisMayLA6

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  • Claire McNab2legged@mastodon.ie
    Oct 16, 2026, 1:36 PM

    PS I agree, @BashStKid. Ireland's LNG imports are a disgrace.

    But the whole energy show in Ireland has been a disgrace since the #ESB's wonderful hydro schemes were completed in the 1950s, and we later dashed to fossil fuel.

    #Moneypoint was a crime, a cynical machine to dump coal emissions on Britain & Europe.

    The 21st-century dash to wind energy was disgracefully handed to private capital. And now hugging #data centres are using 27% of Irish leccy 😡

    @sheddi @robhawkes @ChrisMayLA6

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  • BashStKidBashStKid@mastodon.online
    Oct 16, 2026, 1:45 PM

    @2legged @sheddi @robhawkes @ChrisMayLA6 You’ve probably seen plenty of videos of Ardnacrusha. Shame we can’t drown the *** datacentres for a new dam.

    On a positive note, if somebody is motivated to develop an environmentally safe tidal energy scheme, they may well be in Ireland. Hurry up, and start leading the world!

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