The ESB has no alternative plan to provide improved power to parts of Donegal following An Bord Pleanala's rejection of planning permission for a 110KV power line in the west and north-west of the county.
The decision last month followed a 14-day public hearing in November when Coiste Thimpeallachta Ghaoth Dobhair, An Taisce and Alternative to Poles and Pylons opposed the granting of permission by Donegal County Council.
The ESB was seeking permission to erect over 560 poles and pylons along a 100-kilometre route from Binbane in the south west, through the Gaeltacht areas of the Rosses, Gweedore and Cloughaneely, to Letterkenny in the east.
The objectors hailed the verdict in David and Goliath terms. However, IBEC warned that the decision would have major implications for the economic and industrial development of west Donegal and would be a setback to securing jobs in the area.
The board considered that the primary need for improved 110KV electricity arose in Letterkenny, and not in the south-west, west and northwest regions where the poles and pylons would be built.
It was not satisfied, having taken into account the effect on the environment, that the development was the optimum solution for the area's electricity needs.
The board said that the visual intrusion and disturbance created by the proposed development would have significant adverse impact on the amenities and ecology of the area, and on tourism.
An ESB spokesman told The Irish Times that the report of An Bord Pleanala inspector, Mr Michael Walshe, was being carefully considered and that, as yet, no other plan was being considered.
IBEC still believes there is a need for the 110KV loop in west Donegal. It maintains that the type of infrastructure to be built is a matter for the ESB.
Over 2,000 people are employed at the Udaras na Gaeltachta industrial and technology park in Derrybeg, in the west Donegal Gaeltacht. The lack of an adequate supply is a hindrance in attracting new clients to Derrybeg and other Gaeltacht areas.
A recent survey of companies by IBEC in the north-west found that 78 per cent had had unplanned interruptions to electricity in the past two years.
Nearly half of the companies said they would need additional electrical capacity within two years.
One of the Alternative to Poles and Pylons's expert witnesses at the oral hearing, applied mathematician Prof Michael J. O'Carroll, had questioned the need for the high voltage line through the northwest.
He disagreed strongly with IBEC's contention that the loop through 70 miles of scenic country was necessary or desirable.
"Having secured the relevant information from the ESB it became obvious that the direct 110KV line that already exists from Binbane to Letterkenny could be augmented with either a second link or spur to nearby Ballykeeran," Prof O'Carroll said. "That would mean the effective capacity to the Udar as technology park in Derrybeg would go up substantially.
"I believe that highly economic combined heat and power (CHP) units, which are commercially available, could be installed in Derrybeg. These clean, quiet contained units are very efficient. Very significant contributions could be made to relieve demand from the grid sufficient to solve the identified problems, and also able to combine with other alternatives."
Prof O'Carroll believes it is now time to set up a countywide agency to promote CHP and biomass generation. "I believe the agency should also co-ordinate national and EU grants for research. They should, together with partners like Udaras na Gaeltachta, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, urban district councils and local partnerships, provide a support service for grant advice and application."