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Bord na Móna
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Bord na Móna (; lit. Peat Board) is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the . The company is responsible for the mechanised harvesting of peat, primarily in the Midlands of Ireland. Extensive bogland is exploited in County Offaly, County Longford and County Westmeath, mainly the Bog of Allen.
company was originally established in 1933 as the Turf Development Board, Limited, to manage this relatively plentiful natural resource.
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Encyclopedia
Bord na Móna (; lit. Peat Board) is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the . The company is responsible for the mechanised harvesting of peat, primarily in the Midlands of Ireland. Extensive bogland is exploited in County Offaly, County Longford and County Westmeath, mainly the Bog of Allen.
History
The company was originally established in 1933 as the Turf Development Board, Limited, to manage this relatively plentiful natural resource. During WWII it was necessary to stockpile peat as a fuel, as coal was in short supply; this cemented the drive for mechanised peat harvesting.
Harvesting
Peat was traditionally manually harvested by operating cutaway bogs. This method (still privately used today) consists of sods being vertically cut from the side face of a peat deposit. Technology was derived to mechanically cut and remove layers of peat from blanket bogs. Today, equipment is used to remove tonnes of peat each day at suitable times of year (rainfall is a significant variable in peat harvesting).
Bord na Móna have developed a number of products which were novel developments in their time. Today peat briquettes replace sods of raw peat as a domestic fuel. These briquettes consist of shredded peat, compressed to form a virtually smokeless, slow-burning, easily stored and transported fuel. The first milled peat plant run by the Bord was financed with a loan of £500,000 from Guinness in 1957. Another product developed was peat moss, a combination of peat and soil for use in the garden - particularly in pot plants. The company also supplies peat to power stations of the Electricity Supply Board.
Railways
An extensive network of narrow gauge railways is operated by the company in the midlands. It is often taken up and relaid as various plots are harvested or left aside. Some smaller sections of railway are used in other bog locations, for example in County Donegal. Bord na Móna has an extensive 2000 km (1200 mile) network, which has carried up to 5 million tonnes annually, and is larger than the main network (passenger and freight) operated by Iarnród Éireann. Bord na Móna has one of the largest industrial railways in Europe.
Part of the old railway in Clonmacnoise, County Offaly is now the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway (colloquially the "Bog Train") having been set up to give the public a tour around part of the bog. One line of the railway system runs along a section of the former Ballinasloe branch canal. This includes a section where the railway runs through Kylemore Lough.
Land reclamation
The company is responsible, under government action, for reclaiming spent bogland. These areas of land are usually cleared up, with trees or other suitable vegetation being introduced. Reclaimed bogland is then usually used as a wildlife preserve. Much of the bogs of Ireland have been depleted, it is likely that most peat-fired electricity stations will be closed within 25 years. Rhode Power Station near Edenderry, had its cooling towers demolished on 16 March 2004 as it was no longer viable, followed by Bellacorick in north County Mayo on 14 October 2007.
Future activities
In July 2008, the company announced a €1.4 billion investment plan to expand and change the group's activities over a five-year period. Changes are to be phased in over twenty years and include a combination of energy, waste-management and recovery, and horticulture ventures and will end all exploitation of peat bogs. Chief Executive Officer Gabriel D'Arcy said that Bord na Móna intended to seek a partner to develop its renewable energy business.
Wind energy
€500 million will be spent developing the group's wind farm at Oweninny in northwest County Mayo. It was the first such commercial facility in the Republic and has been in operation since 1993.
Currently producing six megawatts (MW) of electricity every hour at full capacity, the expansion will add 350MW to the farm's output. When it is completed the wind farm will have the potential to produce enough power to supply up to 350,000 homes.
Gas power
Oweninny has enough wind to produce power approximately 35% of the time. Flexible, gas-fired facilities known as "peaking plants" - which can be activated and deactivated quickly - will be used to provide energy when there is insufficient wind.
Horticulture
Bord na Móna supplies peat moss fertilisers to markets in Ireland and Britain, where its biggest customer is DIY chain B&Q. Since British Government guidelines require manufacturers to reduce the amount of peat used in their products, Bord na Móna intends to capitalise on its system of fertiliser production which converts organic waste from gardens and parks, reducing the need for peat moss.
See also
External links
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