IRISH AGRI-TECH business BHSL has announced sales of €13million worth of its purpose-built poultry manure-to-energy technology. 
The company claimed that eight of its new Energy Centre units will be installed on large UK poultry farms by this March. The patented technology will be shipped from BHSL’s plant in Ballagh, County Limerick, representing the first fruits of an expansion strategy announced by the company’s chairman Denis Brosnan upon his appointment in October.
The systems convert poultry manure into both electricity and heat, which is then used to provide heating and power for the poultry business. BHSL maintain that its system is the only one available that meets both US and EU environmental regulations, allowing farmers to use manure for power rather than spreading it on land as a fertiliser, which is increasingly restricted due to pollution concerns. 
The company reckons that farms may be able to meet all their energy needs by using their manure as a fuel, thereby reducing costs and improving the sustainability of intensive poultry production. It recently celebrated a world first, as technology it installed in both Maryland in the US and Norfolk in the UK produced electricity for the first time. 
Managing director Declan O’Connor said: “We are very pleased to have agreed sales of eight new units in recent months, as we implement our commercialisation strategy, and poultry farmers become more aware of the cost savings and environmental regulatory benefits of using our technology. We are preparing for a busy period in the months ahead, with the aim to make sales in excess of €40m in the company’s next financial year.”
BHSL’s founder and director of research and development Jack O’Connor added: “It was always the desire to generate electricity in addition to heat, and it is an exciting milestone to have now achieved this at sites in both the UK and US. Poultry farms have big electricity bills and there is enough manure created to provide both heat and electricity. In fact by generating electricity all the manure on a site can be utilised, completely removing the need to land spread manure which is increasingly considered a pollutant and restricted by law.”