Decision over proposed LNG plant close to Limerick/Kerry border deferred
AN BORD Pleanála has deferred its decision on the proposed Shannon LNG plant in Tarbert/Ballylongford, close to the Limerick border, and a new date of September 9 has been set.
The move comes at a time when the government is under severe pressure because of soaring fuel prices as a result of the invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russia and because of rising concerns about fuel security.
The planning application for the LNG plant was submitted to An Bord Pleanála last August by New Fortress Energy. It was a new application as the High Court had ruled, in 2020, against a five-year extension to the original planning consent.
The new proposal from New Fortress Energy involved the development of a floating storage and regasification unit which would be moored at a jetty to receive and store the liquid natural gas (LNG).
The terminal would then regasify the LNG and send the gas to the power plant and to the national gas grid. This first phase, according to the company, was expected to cost €650m, creating 270 construction jobs over three-years and 70 permanent jobs.
It would take up 100 acres of the 600-acre land bank between Tarbert and Ballylongford which has lain empty for decades. But a masterplan for the remainder of the site proposed the development of a major data centre campus.
Since the idea of an LNG plant at Tarbert/Ballylongford was first mooted in 2008, it has been controversial. And the new proposal has also proved to be contentious.
Last October , more than 1,500 people, including over 70 TDs, Senators and councillors, signed a petition objecting to planning permission before the closing date for submissions.
Among those signing were MEPs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace, Senator David Norris and TDs Holly Cairns and Ivana Bacik and Limerick councillor Elisa O’Donovan. Dozens more have added their names to the petition afterwards.
The Green Party in Limerick, Kerry and Clare produced a joint document opposing the proposal which was also submitted to An Bord Pleanála.
Green Party TD for Limerick, Brian Leddin, speaking on behalf of Limerick party members, said at the time: “The proposed development is against clearly-stated government policy and would lock Ireland into a highly polluting source of fuel.”
The proposed Energy Park does not align with the urgent global ambition “to maintain temperatures on earth at a level where it is safe for human civilisation”, he added.
The submission also noted that the plant would only have a life-span of 13 years up to 2040, because of legally binding carbon emission reduction targets.
But there is also local support for the project and the jobs it promises for the area. A local petition, supporting the plan, attracted 800 signatures.
According to one prominent local supporter, an oral hearing on the proposal can now be expected.