Over 200 people are attending a public meeting in Toomevara this evening concerning plans to build an industrial sized biogas facility in north Tipperary.
The meeting has been organised by former IFA president Tim Cullinan who is behind the project.
Mr Cullinan, a pig farmer in Toomevara for 45 years, said the biogas plant will process "200,000 tonnes of byproducts from the local area, with minimum disruption to the local area".
He said the volume of gas generated would heat up to 9,000 homes locally.
Planning permission has not yet been submitted for the development, but he said: "At this point, we are at the first stage with An Coimisiún Pleanála."
Residents, businesses, community groups and local representatives have packed the parish hall in the village to hear a presentation and ask questions about the proposals.
Members of the Ballymackey Biogas Concern Group have raised their concerns at the "sheer scale and location" of the proposed plant.
Chairperson Henry Mooney described how the development outside Ballymackey village, processing 200,000 tonnes of waste per year, would make it one of the largest in the country.
He said, while the group fully supports the transition to renewable energy, the proposed biogas facility "raises serious concerns that are not adequately addressed by current regulations".
The group is also concerned about the enforcement powers of the EPA.
One of the main issues that has been raised at the meeting is the impact on the roads infrastructure around the proposed site, which the group says are too narrow for high volumes of HGV traffic.
Concerns were also expressed over the potential negative impact on the area's groundwater and the River Ollatrim.
Labour TD Alan Kelly is also in attendance.
He said the Government has not published a clear national framework in relation to the use of biomethane despite a committee being in place for some time, and he said planning guidelines need to be in place before any plans are given permission.
