€500m electricity plant gets go-ahead

A MAJOR hurdle has been cleared in a proposal to build a €500 million gas- powered electricity plant on the Shannon Estuary.

Spanish energy giant Endesa has been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála to start work on phase one of the generating plant in Tarbert, Co Kerry.

Upwards of 800 workers will be employed during a four-year construction period and 38 highly-skilled jobs will be created when the plant comes into operation, according to Endesa.