Appeal lodged with planning body over Buncrana energy storage project

An Bord Pleanála has been asked to examine controversial plans to develop Europe’s first iron-air battery storage project at a site outside Buncrana.

An appeal has been lodged to the planning body after Donegal County Council granted the facility, at Ballynahone, conditional planning permission.

Peter Sweetman, a director of Wild Ireland Defense CLG, has submitted an appeal to An Bord Pleanála.

A submission from Mr Sweetman was one of 68 received by Donegal County Council after an initial application was made to the local authority by FuturEnergy Ireland, a joint venture between Coillte and the ESB.

The proposed development has a total surface of around 2.9 hectares and would have 248 battery energy storage units in metal shipping containers.

Over 150 people attended a public meeting to oppose the project. The meeting heard concerns over the risk of fire, water contamination, the threat to wildlife and the proposed use of “untested” technology.

Almost 1,300 people have signed an online petition opposing the proposed development.

In its decision, Donegal County Council said there are “no  health and safety issues associated with the proposal” and that it “will not have a significant impact on the local environment”.

“The proposal is sustainable in nature and will assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting sustainable energy infrastructure as part of Ireland’s pathway to net zero emissions by 2050,” the local authority said. 

In response to concerns in objections about the technology involved, the local authority said iron-air batteries, while newer in large-scale applications, are based on well-established chemical principles and have undergone rigorous testing.

One objector who lodged a submission to the Council said the locating of such a facility would “constitute a serious impairment of Buncrana's visual amenity”, adding:  “If the proposed experiment proved successful it could only constitute the vanguard of an even bigger proliferation of windmills and battery storage units.”

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Another objector said such plants had not been tested anywhere in Europe and said “we shouldn’t be the guinea pigs here in Inishowen” while another said that Ballynahone is a “a beautiful peaceful area and it would be a shame to destroy it with a big industrial facility”.