Mayo Power still in planning limbo

Mayo Power still in planning limbo


Áine Ryan

MAYO Power Limited may now have to wait until October before An Bord Pleanála (ABP) makes a decision on the future of the proposed peat and mixed-fuel power plant to be located at the site of the disused Asahi site near Killala. An ABP spokesman confirmed to The Mayo News that, on August 12 last, the appeals board asked the applicant to defend the proposed use of 400,000 tonnes of peat annually since it ‘might be contrary to national policy to reduce power generation from peat as a fuel source’.
In the request for further information, Mayo Power Limited was also asked to ‘consider and advise whether the proposed development can be operated using bio-mass and coal as fuel sources only’.
The €140 million development was granted planning permission, subject to 43 conditions, by Mayo County Council before Christmas last. Mayo Power Ltd is jointly owned by former TD and senator, Mr Myles Staunton of Westport and a subsidiary of American company, Rockland Capital, which is led by Mr Gerald Crotty.
Both An Taisce and the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) appealed the Council permission to ABP while Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) has lobbied the European Commission and the Minister for Energy, Communications, and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan.
Meanwhile, the EU Commission has called on Ireland to implement ‘effective management and protection measures’ for its peatlands. In response to a question by Jim Higgins, MEP, the EU Environment Commissioner, Mr Stavros Dimas, said the conservation status of Irish peatlands is ‘particularly alarming’ and that peat ‘does not represent a renewable resource or biomass, as confirmed by the guidelines of the International Panel on Climate Change’.
Welcoming the Commissioner’s statement, the environment groups have called on the Government to clarify the National Climate Change Strategy 2007 – 2012 (NCCS) which continues to support the co-firing of peat with biomass in power generation.
Furthermore, the IPCC has emphasised that during the last 400 years 82 per cent of Ireland’s original peatlands – encompassing more than one million hectares – has been lost. Moreover, FIE has drawn attention to EPA statistics revealing that more than 23 million tonnes of carbon were lost in the ten years from 1990-2000 from peat extraction for combustion in Ireland.