Bord na Móna
Bord na Móna (Irish: [ˌbˠoːɾˠd̪ˠ nˠə ˈmˠoːnˠə]; English: "The Peat Board") is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company began developing the peatlands of Ireland with the aim to provide economic benefit for Irish Midland communities and achieve security of energy supply for the recently formed Irish Republic. The development of peatlands involved the mechanised harvesting of peat, which took place primarily in the Midlands of Ireland.
| Company type | Public - Semi-State Company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1946 in Ireland |
| Headquarters | Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland |
Key people |
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| Revenue | € 380.4 million (2019) |
Number of employees | c.1,000 (2020) |
| Divisions |
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| Website | www.bordnamona.ie |
Over the years, Bord na Móna has expanded and diversified its portfolio of businesses to include biomass procurement and supply, power generation (peat based and renewable), waste recovery, domestic fuel products and professional and consumer horticulture products. In 2015, the company announced that the harvesting of peat for power generation is to be "phased out" by 2030, at which point the company would complete its transition to new sustainable businesses located across its bogs and landholding.
The new sustainable businesses and activities located across Bord na Móna's bogs are said to include; renewable energy development, domestic fuels, biomass development, waste recovery, horticulture, eco-tourism, and community amenities. Although Bord na Móna will cease harvesting vast amounts of peat to supply power plants, they will continue to harvest peat for their horticulture and fuels businesses.
Despite these changes Bord na Móna and the extraction of turf remains controversial in Ireland as it is criticised as being the most environmentally unfriendly form of fuel and having a negative impact on local biodiversity while in receipt of state subsidies.