Recycled fuel oil from fishing trawlers is to be used to heat a community centre in Inishowen, Co Donegal.
The initiative is being undertaken by members of the Foyle Fishermen's Co-Operative, using clean-burning technology which recycles waste oil.
The spent fuel is normally taken in containers from vessels berthing in Greencastle fishing harbour and stored for disposal by the local authority. The co-op is involved in designing a safe and efficient system to transfer the used fuel into a "transit system" onshore.
This will reduce the risk of pollution in the harbour, says Mr John D. O'Kane, the co-op's manager. It will also provide a "free fuel" source for the Greencastle Community Centre.
"Trying something new is nothing new for the local fishermen," Mr O'Kane says. "In 2002, Greencastle fishermen were the first to implement a cod recovery plan, voluntarily closing off an area to protect juvenile codling. Over 12,000 juvenile cod were tagged, providing valuable information on stock migration from the Greencastle codling box."
The waste oil project is part of a wider seafood environmental management system being undertaken in association with Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the sea fisheries development board.
The project is also backed by Inishowen Rural Development Ltd, which has been hosting information sessions on renewable energy.
"We can see the potential for formalising and expanding our role as stewards of our local marine environment for the benefit of the community, environment and industry," says Mr Conor McCourt, the co-op's quality manager.
Mr Seamus Bovaird, chairman of Greencastle Development Co Ltd, welcomed the project, which he said had come at a "very opportune moment".
The cost of heating the community centre constitutes the development company's largest financial outlay, he says. Much of the community facility is housed in old buildings which are poorly insulated and not very energy-efficient.
The community centre hopes to install solar heating panels along with the waste-oil burner system. It is also researching the use of a woodchip-burning boiler. If the project proves successful, it may be extended to the maritime museum and to St Eugene's Hall in Greencastle, Mr Bovaird says.
