'Atrocious' smells from anaerobic digester add to windfarm concerns for Laois village
A waste recycling plant and a proposed windfarm are causing concerns for residents of a Laois village.
Both energy plants are in line with ireland and EU policies on low carbon emissions, but for some people living in Ballyroan, both are unpopular.
A small Anerobic Digester plant in the centre of the village is causing a health fear for residents over the fumes they say are being emitted.
Dozens of residents agreed with a concerned homeowner who spoke out at a public meeting on Ballyroan's future.
The resident describes an “atrocious” smell that can come several times a day.
The woman who raised concerns lives in the Gleann na Glaise housing estate, right next to the AD which neighbours a retirement home on its other side.
The 0.5MW Anaerobic Digester takes in rotten waste, collects the gasses and turns them into use for heat and electricity in underground tanks.
It has been commissioned and operational since October 2018. It is next to the Sue Ryder Retirement village.
The woman described her concerns.
“The smell from it is atrocious. It has to be hazardous. It's like a gas that comes at certain times of the day. Is it affecting anyone else or it is just because we are up against it?” she asked, with many saying “yes”.
The resident explained that she has been advised by Laois County Council to keep a record of the times the smell is present.
“I contacted the plant and was told that they implemented a system worth €180,000 to stop the smell but it is not working.
“I'm terrified it is going to cost lives. Is it cancer causing?” she asked.
The owners of the plant are Rockbrook AD Limited. They declined to give a comment to the Leinster Express.
A much larger Anaerobic Digester received planning approval recently near Portlaoise. Read below.
Meanwhile at the meeting, a resident of Glenbrook asked about the planned windfarm near Ballyroan.
“It is right where we are living. Coillte say that they hope to have it up in four years. We can't ignore it. It's quite a large development. Our future here is involved in that,” the man said.
In answer from the audience, local businessman Henry Fingleton, one of the opponents of the windfarm, explained the decade long expensive battle by the local community to prevent the windfarm being built.
“They have permission for the windfarm but no permission for a grid connection. We brought it to the Supreme Court and the European Court. They have a two year window to apply for a connection,” he explained.
Coillte has permission to build 18 turbines in Cullenagh, between Ballyroan and Timahoe.