Public meeting to take place over proposed Buncrana battery storage facility 

Residents concerned about plans to build the first iron-air battery storage facility in Europe close to Buncrana are holding a public meeting.

FuturEnergy Ireland has submitted a planning application to Donegal County Council for a long-duration energy storage compound at a site at Ballynahone.

The facility would comprise of a compound of around three hectares containing 248 battery energy storage units in the form of metal shipping containers.

A group of residents, Buncrana - Fahan Against Untested Battery Storage, are concerned about the impact of what they say is unproven technology. They believe the project will destroy wildlife habitats, could cause water contamination in the Crana River and will be an unwelcome eyesore. 

Meetings have taken place over the proposed project in recent months. The group is holding a public information meeting on Wednesday, October 16 at 7:30pm at Scoil Iosagain in Buncrana and has called on “the entire community to attend”. 

The proposed facility is designed to use iron-air battery technology capable of discharging energy at its full power output for up to 100 hours when fully charged.  

READ NEXT: Council blames 'system error' in defective concrete block remediation debacle

FuturEnergy Ireland,  a joint venture between Coillte and the ESB, says “this new form of​ multi-day storage is made from some of the safest, cheapest and most abundant materials on the planet: low-cost iron, water and air”. 

In response to concerns the company says the  inherent safety of iron-air batteries is one of the project’s strongest assets.