The new plant is claimed to reduce the heavy fuel oil consumption at the company’s Ballaghadereen by over 70% and its carbon emissions by 50%.
Aurivo CEO Aaron Forde said, "This is a prime example of innovation at work at Aurivo to support the businesses’ ambitions growth and export plans in the post milk quota era."
"With the heavy burden of energy costs impacting business performance across Ireland, the facility opening today greatly helps Aurivo on its path to sustained international growth," Forde added.
With the new biomass plant, the company is expected to recoup the equivalent of its set up costs, in energy savings within a period of five years.
Operational from May 2014, the plant will be developed into a major combined heat and power plant, and by 2016, Aurivo intends to sell energy onwards into the national electricity grid.
The company’s subsidiary ECC Teoranta will be responsible for sourcing about 30,000 tonnes of woodchip annually for the biomass plant.
