Work will begin next month on expanding Indaver Ireland's controversial municipal waste incinerator in Co Meath, it was confirmed today.
The €130 million facility in Carranstown will start operating in early 2011, feeding power directly into electricity grid. The plant is designed to generate power for nearly 20,000 homes.
The plant will burn around 200,000 tonnes of household waste a year from across the north east. An Bord Pleanála granted Indaver Ireland permission last year to expand the plant's capacity from 150,000 tonnes.
The decision, which has 31 conditions, allows for waste to be taken from regions outside the north east counties of Meath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan, meaning waste from Dublin could be incinerated in the plant.
John Ahern, Indaver managing director, said today it was a significant step forward in meeting the country's energy needs.
"We now enter a new period where our economy and our environment can realise the benefits of waste to energy," he said. "Rather than bury our waste, now we will generate a new source of energy."
The project, and other incineration schemes in the country, have faced massive opposition, with campaign groups warning over the environmental impact of burning rubbish.
Indaver successfully fought a number of challenges to the plan and the company insists there are 400 similar facilities across Europe reducing the need for landfill sites. The Carranstown plant has been approved by An Bord Pleanála, the High Court and Supreme Court and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Around 60 people will be employed at the site when it is up and running while 300 workers will be involved in the construction.