Diverse Interests Across The Sea
Irish Times Business Magazine : January 08 2010
HAVING BECOME something of a conglomerate with diverse interests in waste management, recycling and wind energy - as well as broadband, water, wastewater and roads, NTR’s most innovative streak is to be found in its biofuel and solar power businesses.
With a history that stretches back to 1978, when it built and operated the country’s first toll road, this area of the business arguably remains its most visible in Ireland. It is also a considerable moneyspinner, given that it is scheduled to receive a further €500 million in payments from the state as a result of a compensation clause related to the sale of the West Link toll road, on top of €100 million it has received so far.
The company had less success with an early biofuel venture in Germany and in 2008 the company made a complicated move that involved buying out Virgin tycoon Richard Branson’s stake in their joint venture company Virgin Bioverda and merging this company with its US firm Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE). A processor of corn, wheat and sorghum grasses, GPRE markets about 800 million gallons of ethanol biofuel every year, making it the fourth largest such producer in north America.
In the face of concerns about ethanol biofuels, NTR recently invested in a pilot project to grow and harvest algae. What makes NTR’s algae project unique is that its joint venture partner BioProcessAlgae’s grower-harvester technology takes waste CO2, warm water and heat from one of GPRE’s ethanol production plants in Iowa and injects it in a photobioreactor in a bid to stimulate algae growth.
The project is believed to be the first of its kind in the US according to NTR, and it will be early next year before its researchers have compiled enough data to determine whether it can be further developed with a view to commercialisation.
In the field of solar energy, the Dublin-based company should see the first commercial-scale facility, in Phoenix, Arizona, completed early this year that uses Suncatcher concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) technology. Each Suncatcher dish uses the sun’s heat to heat and pressurise gas, which in turn powers a Stirling engine that is attached to it.
These devices are the most efficient form of solar power in terms of grid quality electricity conversion, with a rate of 31.25 per cent. They are also highly competitive, offering low cost solar power compared to other solar technology. They also require phenomenally low water usage compared to other solar power technologies.
While embarking on these ventures in the US, it will be interesting to see whether NTR can apply this innovative spirit to its waste management, recycling, wind and water businesses here in Ireland in a way that helps to further stimulate our green business sector.