Plans submitted for new power plant in Finglas

Plans have been lodged for a 293MW gas turbine power plant at Kilshane, Finglas, in north Co Dublin as part of a backup plan aimed at avoiding potential power cuts.

Kilshane Energy Ltd lodged the plans with Fingal County Council for the so-called flexible peaking plant at Kilshane Road, Kilshane. The move comes amid mounting fears over the country’s energy security,

A flexible peaking plant is a gas turbine power generation station “which will run for periods of time when there is insufficient electricity being generated from renewable technologies to meet the country’s energy production needs”, consultants for the project, CWPA Planning and Architecture, said. Such plants are needed to help overcome increasingly frequent system alerts concerning capacity shortfalls in the country’s power generation system, they added.

The planning consultants state that these plants “are crucial to avoid power outages and ensuring the security of electricity supply in a grid with increased renewable sources of energy.”

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They say that the “the proposed development will act as a reliable source of backup generation when the system margins are tight”.

Eirgrid has awarded a 10-year contract to the proposed Kilshane flexible peaking plant to supply power to the grid from 2024, according to the documents.

“There is now a clear consensus across Government and industry that there is an urgent need to develop additional flexible gas-fired power stations as the principal source of dispatchable generation supporting viable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar,” CWPA Planning and Architecture added.

The scheme is to include the construction of one gas turbine and a 28m high exhaust stack and a two-storey administration building. Huntstown power station is located to the immediate south of the subject site

Building the facility should take two years and five months, according to the documents.

An Environmental Impact Assessment lodged with the scheme states that it is anticipated that the project headcount will peak at 200 to 250 jobs.

The planning document notes that “by displacing higher emitting units, the Kilshane GT is expected to provide a small reduction in the level of carbon emissions”.

A decision is due on the application in November.