The Department of Environment is expected to oppose a €650m liquified natural gas plant on Shannon Estuary.
The department says the proposed development goes against the Government’s Policy Statement on the Importation of Fracked Gas. Shannon LNG Ltd, a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy Inc, a New York-based global energy infrastructure company, has erected a site notice at its 600-acre landbank located between Ballylongford and Tarbert in Co. Kerry and says that it intends to lodge a planning application with An Bord Pleanála for the first phase of development at its Shannon Technology & Energy Park.
The company announced plans for the project recently after the courts struck down its earlier bid to build an LNG plant on the same site in Ballylongford on the Shannon Estuary. The new application will be made against a background of growing concerns about the security of future electricity supplies.
Demand is rising, but several electricity plants face closure in coming years. The site’s master plan includes proposals for up to eight data centres that could provide a further 400 jobs but would also consume significant amounts of energy. About 100 acres at Ballylongford will be needed for the power plant and LNG terminal, with the data centre “campus” taking up part of the remaining land.
