Locals seek assurances from ESB on Shannonbridge energy project

Residents of the west Offaly village of Shannonbridge have sought assurances from the ESB that emissions from the emergency generating plant on the site of the former power station will be carefully monitored.

At a well-attended community meeting in the village last week, which was organised by Shannonbridge Action Group, concerns over possible emissions were raised.

Vincent Darcy, Chair of the Shannonbridge Action Group, said the eight stacks are “significantly smaller” than the stacks on the previous Shannonbridge Power Station, and many locals have voiced concerns that their smaller scale could affect the surrounding environment.

“We sought assurances from the ESB at last week's meeting that the emissions issue would be examined, and they have promised to revert back to us with details of how this is to be handled,” said Mr Darcy.

He added that the ESB representatives in attendance at the meeting assured local residents that the Temporary Emergency Generation (TEG) project in Shannonbridge will operate under licence from the Environmental Protection Agency and will comply with all current environmental regulations.

“What the meeting sought was assurances that there will be regular monitoring of the emissions from the plant and that reports will be compiled which will then be shared with the local community,” said Vincent Darcy, and he said one resident had also highlighted a drop in pressure in her domestic water supply during the construction phase of the project, which the ESB has promised to examine.

The ESB-led initiative on the former Shannonbridge Power Station site involves 262MW of temporary emergency power generation. This is to be produced by eight gas turbine units, fuelled by diesel oil, eight 30-metre tall steel exhaust stacks and two 110kV generator step-up transformers.

Construction work on the site has been on-going for some time, with large numbers of workers being employed, but it is understood that the plant is due to become operational in the very near future.

While representatives from ESB Networks gave a detailed presentation to the local community at last week's meeting in Shannonbridge, and also facilitated a question and answer session, the other three agencies involved in the project did not attend the public meeting, despite being invited. Vincent Darcy said an Eirgid representative was due to attend, but “pulled out at the 11th hour” while there was no response from the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) or the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to the invitation from the Shannonbridge Action Group.

As part of their commitment to the Shannonbridge area, the TEG project team set up a Community Benefit Fund to encourage stronger interaction and engagement with communities living close to the site. The fund recently presented funding to five community groups in the Shannonbridge area, namely: Shannonbridge Tidy Towns Committee; Shannonbridge Meals on Wheels; Raghra Christmas Lights; Shannonbridge Community Hall, and the Belmont Men’s Shed.

The closure of the local power station dealt “a very severe blow” to the economic life of Shannonbridge and surrounding areas, according to Vincent Darcy, who said the new TEG project was “placed on people's doorstep with minimal consultation”.

While he acknowledges that the ESB, who are leading the project, have been involved in on-going engagement with the local community, including offering site visits to the plant and giving detailed presentations to those who could not visit the site, he maintains there are “still a number of concerns” about the overall project.

He says local community groups will adopt a “wait and see approach” over the coming months and will continue to seek assurances that the emission levels from the new plant will adhere strictly to existing environmental guidelines.

Meanwhile, the official handover of the Dalton Centre by the ESB to Offaly County Council will take place at 12 noon today (Friday) in Shannonbridge, when Jim Dollard, Director ESB Generation & Trading will formally hand over the facility to Anna Marie Delaney, Chief Executive of the council.

Previously used to house ESB archive material, The Dalton Centre, named after a former Director of ESB Customer Services, is housed in a huge concrete building adjacent to the former West Offaly Power Station site, close to Shannonbridge. It covers 1,200 square metres or in excess of 12,900 square feet of space with a roof height of ten metres or 32 feet.

The ESB committed to make the building available to Offaly County Council to repurpose for community use and to benefit the village, according to tender documents published in January 2023.