Kentstown residents await decision on power plant

Further information has been submitted to Meath County Council on plans for a controversial gas fired peaking power plant in Kentstown.

Polarisgate Ltd is seeking a 10-year planning permission for the development consisting of three open cycle gas turbine generators at Curraghtown, Brownstown, which were met with huge opposition locally.

The plant, if approved would have a 40-year operation period and would provide back-up electricity to the national grid.

The further information submission follows a formal request by the Meath County Council in December last year for detailed clarification on 21 points, including the plant’s necessity, environmental impact, impact on key heritage sites and traffic implications.

According to the Stop Kentstown Power Plant Group, Polarisgate Ltd itself has acknowledged in its latest documentation that Ireland is already on target to meet the Government’s call for 2GW of flexible gas generation capacity, the very target the proposed Kentstown plant was originally intended to support.

“When the developer themselves notes the national target has been significantly surpassed, it becomes impossible to justify building another fossil fuel power plant in an unsuitable rural location” said a spokesperson for the Stop Kentstown Power Plant group.

They went on to state “you just have to look at last week’s report from the EPA on how Ireland is likely going to miss its 2030 emissions by a wide margin meaning Ireland is now facing potential EU fines ranging from €8 billion to a staggering €26 billion for missing its 2030 emissions targets

Every extra unneeded gas plant like the one proposed for Kentstown risks deepening our national climate compliance bill which is money that could otherwise fund home insulation, clean energy and local jobs.”

The issues flagged by the group include failure to conduct a national site assessment or justify the chosen site in light of zoning concerns, lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), revised construction traffic estimates showing significant increases, raising road safety and disruption concerns, potential destruction of red- and amber-listed wildlife habitats and impact on sightlines.