Proposed rules for transporting extra-heavy loads on Irish roads will affect efforts to boost electricity supplies and put a strain on climate targets, hauliers warn.
Electricity companies are looking to move equipment weighing up to 730 tonnes as the Republic races to tackle an energy shortage while also attempting to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
However, hauliers say rules proposed by the Department of Transport, regarding the transport of “abnormally heavy loads”, could rule out moving some equipment or seriously hinder efforts to do so.
Officials are considering imposing limits between 400 and 450 tonnes on Irish roads. They could also demand that anyone seeking to move extra-heavy equipment by road seek a permit up to 12 months in advance.
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Haulier Darren McDowell argues that those limits take no account of the demands required to move heavy equipment.
He warns that this will hinder efforts to redevelop the State’s energy grid, build new power plants and meet climate goals.
“They are not following Government policy,” Mr McDowell says. “We need to be facilitated in getting the equipment in place to meet those goals.”
Electricity suppliers have to move generator parts, transformers and wind turbine components by road.
Since last year, Government rules require anyone seeking to move loads this size to first complete full-route surveys. Groups including Wind Energy Ireland argue that this is onerous, saying it adds to the cost of boosting electricity supplies.
Mr McDowell, of Co Offaly firm Whitten Road Haulage, is the Irish Road Haulage Association’s spokesman on abnormal loads. The issue blew up last year when it emerged that two electricity generators needed to shore up supplies in emergencies were stranded at Dublin Port.
Hauliers here have moved loads of up to 493 tonnes, but they have received requests to transport equipment weighing up to 730 tonnes, including the weight of the truck.
In the UK, where Irish hauliers regularly work, there is no limit, but some loads have to travel on routes set by the authorities.
Truckers generally receive permits to move equipment within 12 weeks, while it is often quicker in “straightforward situations”, according to Mr McDowell.
Modern bridges in the Republic are designed to carry 180 tonnes while older ones may only cope with much lower weights.
Large loads are spread across truck axles, Mr McDowell explains, so the maximum weight that bridges can bear does not preclude the transport of equipment weighing a lot more than that.
He argues that State agency Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is setting the department’s approach to the problem. TII did not comment on the matter. The organisation provides technical advice to the department on a range of issues.
The department has said it is working to tackle the technical and administrative difficulties involved.
