An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for a major power plant in north Kerry, overturning its own decision made last year.
The proposed power plant, which will be located on a 630-acre site between Tarbert and Ballylongford on the Shannon Estuary, will include an emergency storage facility for natural gas in the event of supplies being cut off to Ireland.
Planning permission has been granted for a plant which will have a total capacity of 600 megawatts – enough to power 160,000 homes in the State.
In October 2023, the board refused planning permission for the venture pending a Government’s review of the security of energy supply to 2030.
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It found the proposal was “contrary to government policy and therefore contrary to the proper planning and development of the area”.
Shannon LNG challenged the board’s decision, and Mr Justice Richard Humphreys in the High Court last November ordered the board to review the application.
Mr Justice Humphreys said the board had not taken into consideration a 2023 national risk assessment that the absence of a major storage facility for natural gas was “a risk for security of supply”.
In its reviewed decision, the board has given the go-ahead for the facility, saying it was satisfied that the plant was consistent with national climate ambitions.
“The proposed development along with the proposed battery energy storage facility will provide back-up to a renewables-based electricity grid and will contribute to the resilience of the overall energy supply network,” the board said.
“The need for such flexible generation capacity is recognised as a national priority in the Government Policy Statement on Security of Electricity Supply, and in the Climate Action Plan 2024.”
The scale of the project would “not seriously injure” the visual amenity of the area, was acceptable in terms of traffic safety, and was an appropriate development for the location, the board concluded.
The plant will consist of three gas turbine halls 30 metres tall, a 120MW battery storage system, a substation, and underground connecting cables.
The electricity output of the plant will be made available to the national grid as back-up for intermittent renewable energy if, for instance, the wind fails to blow.
The decision has been welcomed by Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South Billy Kelleher, who said it was “simply a victory for common sense over ideological dogma”.
“Today’s decision is an important milestone in ensuring Irish energy security into the future,” he said.
“Too much time has been wasted over the last 16 years to get to this point. If planning permission had been granted at the start, the facility would have been operational over a year ago.
“Too much ideological purity has led us to where we are: vulnerable to external energy shocks. We need to move to a renewable future, but that requires a transition. LNG is part of that transition.
“We can ensure that the facility is future-proofed for the use of green hydrogen from our offshore wind energy sector.”
Opponents of LNG highlight that it is extracted by hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a method banned in Ireland on public health and environmental grounds.
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They claim that developing a storage and regasification facility would prolong dependence on fossil fuel when the country is supposed to be moving away from polluting sources of energy.
Friends of the Earth director Tony Lowes said the decision would lock Ireland into more fossil fuels.
“The planning appeals board have directly and purposely ignored our Climate Act which says that all decisions must be consistent with the requirement to become a climate neutral economy,” he said.
