Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the Government would have to study An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse permission for the proposed development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and power station on the Shannon estuary in Co Kerry.
The decision was posted to An Bord Pleanála’s website this morning.
Shannon LNG had been seeking permission for the €650m development, including a 600MW power plant and LNG terminal at the site near Tarbert.
Mr Varadkar said there would be disappointment in the area and he believes there is a case for having a gas storage facility in the country.
The decision was based on Government policy on the importation of fracked gas, An Bord Pleanála said, adding that it would be inappropriate to permit or proceed with the development of any LNG terminals in Ireland pending the review of energy supply.
An Bord Plenála referred to several government policy statements and an ongoing ‘Review of the Security of Energy Supply of Ireland’s Electricity and Natural Gas Systems’ undertaken by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in September last year.
It said an “initial technical analysis” carried out as part of this review “does not support the development of a commercially operated” floating LNG terminal.
It goes on to say it would go against current government policy and “in the absence of such policy support” the proposed development “would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.
The use of LNG as a primary fuel source for a power station was contrary to current Government policy, it added.
Ryan welcomes move
Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan has welcomed the decision by An Bord Pleanála.
“At a time when the world is burning, we cannot expand our use of fossil fuels. We have to switch from electricity to wind,” he said.
He said the Government review of energy security will be published “in the next two to three weeks”.
Mr Ryan hinted the review could recommend some form of LNG but that it “will be strategic, not commercial”.
He said he is “absolutely convinced” there will be huge investment in Kerry, Clare and Limerick by tapping into offshore wind.
“We can switch to hydrogen made from that wind and Kerry, Limerick and Clare more than anywhere else, from Tarbert, to Foynes, right the way up the Limerick estuary to Limerick city at the centre of this is going to boom in this green, clean green future.”
He said one of the main reasons why energy is so expensive in Ireland is because 50% of Irish power generation demand comes from gas.
Call for Ryan to resign over decision
Mayor of Kerry Councillor Jim Finucane has said the reaction to the refusal of planning permission for an LNG terminal is “one of total shock and dismay”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News At One Mr Finucane said “there is a huge amount of anger” in north Kerry. “This whole process was a farce.”
He said the long-planned project was supported by a majority of people in north Kerry because it would bring investment and jobs.
Mr Finucane said it was “non-sensical” that the Department of Environment’s report into Ireland’s energy security had not been published yet.
He said Mr Ryan should resign and said he would be contacting the Taoiseach’s office about the result.
The decision was welcomed by Friends of the Earth.
Head of Policy Jerry McEvilly said it was thanks to 15 years of work by civil society groups, both here and in America.
He said the state agencies were “finally aligned” on policy on this project.
Attempts to construct an LNG terminal at the site go back almost two decades.
Permission was granted in 2007 for an LNG regasification terminal but there were legal challenges and an extension of permission was quashed by the High Court in 2020.
Permission was also granted in 2009 for a 26km gas pipeline to connect the terminal to the existing natural gas network west of Foynes, Co Limerick, to link up with the national gas networks.
Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane, Sinead Spain
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