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ENERGY MINISTER EAMON Ryan has formally submitted a planning application for a emergency power plant in north Dublin.
The proposed development, which would be located at the existing Huntstown Power Station, has been submitted to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) with a decision set to be issued early next year.
It is understood that the proposed Huntstown facility would provide approximately 50 megawatts to the Irish grid.
This is approximately enough to power 40,250 homes for a year.
This is the second emergency power generator to be sought by the Government to address ongoing energy shortfalls, with the first temporary generation facility being approved by ABP last month.
The facility, located in North Wall, is expected to take up to 15 months to build and will be in operation for five years, according to reports by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications.
Alongside the Huntstown emergency generator, there will be approximately 250 additional megawatts added to the Irish grid when the two projects are completed.
The Journal initially reported on the two proposed generators in April, with the sites set to be fossil-fuel powered.
Temporary emergency generation in Dublin has been well flagged in recent months, with the latest supply report by EirGrid showing that Ireland will face “significant” electricity supply issues in the coming years.
The grid operator has predicted Ireland will face electricity capacity deficits within the next ten years, particularly due to the deteriorating availability of power plants which will leave them unusable ahead of their planned retirement dates.
This is expected to remove 590 megawatts of power from the Irish grid.
Additionally, there are further electricity supply constraints after 630 megawatts of forecasted generation never arrived onto the grid, after contracted providers pulled out.
The concerns around electricity supply comes as EirGrid expects the demand for electricity to rise, particularly for data centres.
The report anticipates that overall electricity demand will increase by 37% by 2031, with demand from residential, commercial and industry set to remain “relatively consistent”, while there will be major growth from data centres and new large electricity users.
In particular, EirGrid is forecasting that, by 2031, 28% of all electricity demand will come from data centres and other large electricity users.
The ESB are also set to seek planning permission to build a new gas-fired power generator outside Cork city later this year, which would be located at the Aghada Power Plant.
North Wall project
The North Wall plant, which was approved by ABP last month, will be located within the boundaries of Dublin Port.
Assessment reports published by the Department of Environment detail that the emergency generator will only operate when electricity demand is high and when generation from other sources, like wind, is low.
It’s expected to run for up to 500 hours a year and only four hours a day when it is needed.
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At least wait till halloween is over. Money hungry feckers.
Aaaaaagh!!!! We need a new non religious holiday for this time of year. Something for everyone who is sick of this capitalist skullf@#kery. It should start no earlier than December and be a time to strengthen relationships with family and friends…without all the guilt and fairytales. Ok, yes…kinda like Festivous without the pole.
Give us a break It’s far too early.!
@Gerry Fallon: Very few people in this country are still Catholic. Why are we still calling it Christmas? I don’t believe in god. This festival does not represent me.
Shup you.
You don’t have to believe in ghosts to enjoy a good ghost story.
The reason there’s holidays that time of year is because of Christmas. It’s the name of the holiday same as Halloween.
Take the chip off your shoulder and take off that stupid hat while you’re at it ya muppet
What are you telling me for? Just do what you want. Nobody cares whether you believe or not.ok
Let’s all change our traditions because it doesn’t represent the one person complaining about it! Quickly everyone, let’s all call it “Annual Gift Day” from now on before the mass outrage begins!
Mick, the reason there’s a holiday that time of year is because of ancient Celtic traditions. The catholic Church, only later, appropriated those ‘holidays’ changing the name by which they were known and re-branding them as ‘Catholic’.
@Siesztrzewitowski Brzenczyszczykiewic: Does this mean you’re willing to forgo the Christmas holidays and work as normal for flat rate pay? Good man, your boss will be delighted with your progressive beliefs.
Seriously? Its October….
@Kerry Blake: Not with the shops… It is Greedmas time.
“we’re walking in the air…”
@Kieran Stafford:
We’re shopping in the air
We’re buying in the moonlit sky
The people far below are shopping as we fly
I’m holding very tight
I’m buying in the midnight blue
I’m finding I can spend so high above with you
Far across the world
The shops go by like trees
The rivers and the hills
The forests and the streams
Children gaze open mouth
Taken by surprise
Nobody down below believes their bank accounts
We’re surfing in the internet
We’re swimming in the frozen internet
We’re drifting over wed ads
Mountains floating by
Suddenly swooping low on an Amazon deep
Arousing of a mighty monster from its sleep
We’re searching in the air
We’re floating in the midnight web
And everyone who sees us runs over us as we fly
A lot effort put in there Alois. Was it worth it
Is it just me..or is Halloween being pushed more and more every year..at least give the witch bitch a chance to vanish before bringing in the bearded bollox..
I wish we gave Halloween some proper air-time in Ireland. It has some very beautiful and poignant traditions about honouring the dead.
Fup off !
It’s way to confusing for kids my little lad is convinced Christmas is next never mind Halloween! Even though our house is done up for Halloween, I’ve had to give him a timeline so he Understands better.
P!ss off
For the love of all that lives, leave anything to do with Christmas out untill the 1st of December it spoils everything when its too early.
I think it’s beautiful, ho ho ho
@STARVIN MARVIN: Too early…
It’s beginning to look a lot like F**k this!
Saw Brown Thomas Window today…it looks daft.
Any company that puts up chrimbo stuff before December 1 loses my business for at least a year.
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