A planning application for a €200 million incinerator to be located off the N7 in south Dublin is to be lodged by an American multi-national corporation, writes Tim O'Brien
The facility would handle about 365,000 tonnes of waste annually - giving it a capacity of a little over half of the incinerator currently proposed for the Poolbeg peninsula by Dublin City Council.
Described as a "resource recovery project" (RRP) the facility would be located on a site known locally as the Behan Quarry, about seven kilometres south of the M50 and west of the N7.
The facility would provide a materials recycling plant and would produce enough energy to power over 43,000 homes in the Dublin area, through thermal treatment of residual waste.
The project is to be developed by Energy Answers International Ltd, a subsidiary of Energy Answers Corporation which has been successfully developing and operating resource recovery projects to the highest standards in the US for more than 25 years.
Energy Answers International says its process produces a higher quality ash with virtually no organic material from which valuable metals and aggregates can be recovered, resulting in a dramatic reduction in landfill needs.
The promoters also said the plant would have its own entrance from the N7 to reduce traffic disruption, would reduce the need for regional landfills, and would recover 5,600 tonnes of non-ferrous metal alongside 6,200 tonnes of ferrous metal, each year.
The facility would be privately financed and would not require "put or pay" contracts with local authorities.
Earlier this week Minister for the Environment John Gormley criticised such contracts which guarantee levels of waste going to incineration. He said they had the potential to define waste management for up to 25 years.
There are currently about seven regional incinerators at pre-planning permission develop-ment stages in the State.
In addition, Indaver Ireland has planning permission to incinerate municipal waste at plants in Cork and Meath, although the capacity of the Meath plant has been revised upwards and is back in the planning stages. Indaver also has planning permission for a hazardous waste incinerator at Cork.
Dublin City Council this week signed a contract for its proposed Poolbeg incinerator in advance of planning permission.
The cost of the Poolbeg incinerator has never been disclosed but based on comparable capacity to the N7 incinerator, Poolbeg would cost in the region of €350 million.
The project to be known as the N7RRP is to be the subject of public information days at the Citywest offices of Energy Answers International, at 3015 Lake Drive, Citywest Business Park, Dublin 24.
Information days are from 10am to 9pm on Thursdays, starting next Thursday.
Further information is also available at the project website, www.n7rrp.ie.