L-R Michael Sweeney Operations Director, Michael Mc Eniry Technical Director Roisin Ryan Admin, Liam Mc Eniry Process Engineer, Seamus Kennedy Scheduling Dept, Graeme Lochhead Commercial Director, Cathal Nolan Liaison Officer. Missing from Photo Tony Yates Managing Director
A new tenant has been confirmed for the Tipperary Technology Park on Rosanna Road in Tipperary town. Nephin Renewable Gas(NRG) is to occupy Unit Four as it plans major expansion in the provision of anaerobic digestion renewable natural gas plants nationwide. Some staff have been in situ in Tipperary since July, it is expected that 10 full time staff will be in place by October with this number increasing to 100 as the plants are rolled out across the country. An increase to 70 staff at the Tipperary office is expected to be achieved over an 18 – 24 month timeframe. The company would hope to establish an average of 4 to 5 plants per county.
NRG will help design, construct, operate and maintain several such plants. The Tipperary location was selected for a variety of reasons including being in the heart of the Dairy industry where raw material – farm slurry and waste organic material is plentiful and the availability of an attractive state of the art facility in the Tipperary Technology Park.
The formal announcement is to be made at the Ploughing today.
The NRG team is headed by its four directors, Dr Tony Yates, a leading expert in natural renewable gas and waste management, Michael Sweeney, co-director of NRGE, one of Ireland’s leading Agri waste management businesses along with Michael McEniry, a production engineer and expert in biogas production, and Graeme Lochhead, a structural and mechanical engineer, former lecturer, consultant and commercial director with decades of experience within the AD (Anaerobic Digestion) sector.
NRG will develop a network of anaerobic digesters across the country fuelling the production of bio methane (which is structurally and chemically the same as natural gas), that will power Ireland’s transition towards energy independence and a sustainable low carbon economy. This home-grown business will create significant employment opportunities in rural Ireland, while also reducing the emissions footprint of Irish agriculture. Similar developments across the EU have resulted in rural employment figures of direct and associated jobs of 76 per plant.
Eoin Barret, manager at the Tipperary Technology Park says he is delighted to have Nephin Renewable Energy establishing it’s headquarters in Tipperary. The local stakeholders – Tipperary County Council, Enterprise Ireland, Jobs4Tipp and the Tipperary Revitalisation Task Force have all worked closely with the client to bring about today’s confirmation of upwards of 70 new positions in the town over time – across a range of business, engineering, logistics and environmental science areas.
Mr Barret also confirmed that the Tipperary Technology Park is now at virtually full occupancy for the first time in 20 years with the latest tenant aiming to be a key player in the growing “green economy”.
