Bord na Móna has delivered its highest ever operating profit of €106.7 million for its financial year 2024, up from €95.2 million the previous year.
The company said this reflects the completion of its Brown to Green transition, which has seen it end all fore peat operations and use of peat as an energy source in its operations.
This was marked in December 2023, when Bord na Móna ended the use of peat at its Edenderry Power Station and invested €100 million in its decarbonisation and transition to 100% biomass.
Profit for the year included a one-off gain from the sale of Bord na Móna's 50% stake in Electricity Exchange DAC at a profit of €7.3 million and the profit of €57.1 million realised on entering a strategic partnership with SSE Renewables in March 2024.
"Our current financial positioning will be the enabler of further investment and innovation which will secure both the future of the business, as we develop our 5GW renewable energy pipeline, and support Ireland’s clean energy capability as we chart a path to net zero emissions by 2050," said Chief Executive Tom Donnellan.
"Bord na Móna’s new and existing joint ventures and partnerships with companies including ESB, SSE Renewables and Ocean Winds are playing a crucial role in bolstering our ability to deliver our 5GW renewable energy pipeline, and we will continue to explore new partnerships that contribute to our performance as a business and importantly deliver positive and sustainable outcomes for the state," he added.
Over the past 12 months, Bord na Móna has invested a further €164 million in renewable energy projects, with €133 million wholly owned by the company and €31 million in joint venture projects.
This includes the launch of the second phase of the Oweninny Wind Farm with joint venture partner ESB, representing a joint investment of €320 million.
Oweninny is now the country's largest wind farm with a total installed capacity of 192MW.
This is in addition to the joint venture launched with SSE Renewables, which will deliver up to 800MW of new renewable energy projects and will become one of the largest onshore renewable energy joint ventures in the history of the State, with up to €1 billion of investment over the next seven years.
Bord na Móna also invested in a partnership with Gas Networks Ireland in April 2024 to develop a 22km steel transmission pipeline to connect Bord na Móna’s Edenderry Renewable Energy Complex to the national gas network.
Once fully operational in 2029, it said this pipeline will result in a reduction of around 40% in CO2 emissions through the conversion of existing flexible diesel generation assets to natural gas.
In the past financial year, Bord na Móna has also continued to advance the construction of its first solar farm at Timahoe North, alongside joint venture partner ESB, as well as the construction of Derrinlough Wind Farm and the Cloncreen Battery project.
