‘Technology is catching up and people accept the need to change’ – Offaly at the epicentre of Ireland’s decarbonisation efforts
In a county where a fifth of the land is peat and the culture of turf burning means homes are billowing out a massive share of the State’s total emissions, the decisions of Offaly people carry more weight than many in Ireland’s climate fight.
The midlands were the first area to feel the sting of the country’s decarbonisation plans, with Offaly particularly affected, according to its county council.
Offaly bogs could remove huge amounts of climate-heating gases from the atmosphere if rewetted, restored and protected, helping ward off the worst impacts of climate, but this is little comfort to the hundreds of families still reeling from job losses after the cessation of peat harvesting for energy generation.
Offaly County Council’s Climate Action Plan lays out the myriad reasons the practice had to end.
For instance, according to the council’s climate action and energy co-ordinator, John McNally, the climate crisis helped wildfires devastate the ancient Slieve Bloom mountains while other “areas [have been] flooded by rivers and by rain storms”.
The county’s action plan didn’t put a value on how much global heating has cost Offaly so far, but gives decision-makers a baseline “to see how the picture has changed”, Mr McNally said.
The plan highlights how 2,450 people were left without power when Storm Ali hit in 2018, and that heavy snow from Storm Emma that same year closed roads and disrupted transport.
In 2022, it states, heat “affected rail lines in the county”, reducing speeds and ramping up commuting times.
Heathers in the Slieve Bloom mountains. Photo: Getty
Meanwhile, a climate-change risk assessment carried out by consultants from KPMG found that severe windstorms could now be a reality every one to two years, with river flooding frequent and heatwaves common.
The River Shannon already poses a risk. In 2023, over 200 farmers protesting on a Banagher bridge after flooding ruined hundreds of acres of silage. In Tullamore, heavy rains have seen wastewater facilities overflowing into streets.
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According to the county’s action plan, Offaly faces eight main climate hazards, with river floods and windstorms topping the scale as “very frequent” risks, followed by rainfall-induced flooding, a common and moderate risk.
Coldspells, heavy snowfall, heatwaves, drought and groundwater floods rounded out the list.
Offally generated 1.45 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2018
When asked about the county’s old turf plants, which were powered by what's now widely considered the most damaging fossil fuel, Mr McNally said hindsight was 20-20.
The plants were still open when Offaly generated 1.45 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2018, worth around €102.6m in the EU’s Emissions Trading System, which requires polluters to pay for their emissions.
Like every local authority in Ireland, Offaly County Council has to cut emissions 51pc by 2030 compared with 2018 levels.
The closure of its peat-powered electricity plants and its focus on renewables could be a game-changer for the county, which has already jumped from 10th place to third place in terms of renewable energy creation on a county-by-county level.
According to the Green Collective, that's thanks to the Edenderry turf-fired power plant’s conversion to biomass, as well as three new wind farms that opened in 2024.
Mr McNally said: “People always find change inherently difficult … but there's more embracing of the new technologies now and the new opportunities from the [EU Just Transition Fund].”
Despite the apparent focus on Offaly’s turf, agriculture is actually the county’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter (47pc) according to the action plan, followed by residential and transport emissions (17pc). Land use change is responsible for 9pc, industry for 7pc, and waste/wastewater and industrial processes each responsible for 1pc.
The council can control its own emissions, so its biggest battle may be engaging citizens and businesses.
“There’s an inward focus on what’s within our control – our own fleet, our own buildings, our own practices and how we deliver services,” Mr McNally said.
These plans include retrofits, energy audits, climate-friendly street lights, biodiversity inclusive social housing with green roofs, walls, wetlands and ponds, and addressing dereliction.
We have a big, long history in energy generation, but we’re really focusing now on renewable energy
A pesticide reduction policy has also been developed and the council has set out an electric vehicle strategy, migrating its own fleet to low-emissions vehicles. The council has also delivered the Grand Canal Greenway and active travel plans to get people out of cars and give children safe routes to schools.
“We’ve installed over 70km of greenways along the canals,” Mr McNally said.
“Active travel is massive and we’re looking at a cycling strategy for Tullamore.”
He added: “More than half of the actions within our plan are community-focused. It’s showing leadership. It’s building capacity. It’s raising awareness.
“We have a big, long history in energy generation, but we’re really focusing now on renewable energy.”
That includes plans to test new technologies like geothermal and district heating in Offaly’s decarbonising zone, Tullamore.
“Technology is catching up [and] I think people are accepting the need to change.”