Residents in west Limerick get ready to oppose €240m ‘waste-into-gas’ plant

Battle lines are being drawn up in west Limerick over a plan by a US company to build a €240m facility which will convert municipal waste into gas and electricity.

Mon, 01 Jun, 2015 - 01:00

Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent

Cadence EnviroPower, a company formed by two US corporations, has entered an agreement with Limerick City and County Council to lease the site of a closed council landfill where it is proposed to locate the plant.

The plant will process up to 1,000 tonnes of waste every day, converting it into gas which in turn will generate 30 megawatts of electricity. The electricity will then be sold to the national grid.

The council has entered a 30-year deal with Cadence for the lease of the site of the old Gortadroma landfill near Foynes port, which opened in 1999 and closed last year.

Cadence, proposing to proceed to the planning stage, says the plant will provide 150 permanent jobs and hundreds more in the construction of the totally covered-in gasification plant.

Gasification involves converting municipal waste into gas by heating it to extremely high temperatures.

However, mounting concern among locals has led to the formation of the ‘Residents Against Gasification in Our Environment Action Group’. Move than 200 people attended its first public meeting.

A spokesman said: “This proposed development affects not just those families living in the immediate area, but communities all along the Shannon Estuary including Shanagolden, Foynes, Glin, Loughill, and the wider west Limerick area.”

Residents fear the shipment by road of 1,000 tonnes of waste into the proposed plant each day will pose huge dangers and environmental hazards.

The spokesman said: “It is proposed that the municipal waste which will be used to generate the gas will be brought from all parts of the country. The roads around here are not built for that kind of traffic. We are very concerned about road safety, particularly for children, many of whom cycle to and from schools in the area.

“There are also the issues of smells and pollution from this plant.”

Officials, along with a group of councillors, visited a gasification plant in France before entering the leasing deal with Cadence.

Kieran Lehan, director of services with the council, said: “The proposed plant will not give off any emissions.”

Senator James Heffernan, who attended the public meeting, has called for the project to be put on hold. “The scale of this plant is quite frightening and it is quite clear that this project is not welcomed by the communities in the area,” he said.

“There needs to be more serious consultations with local people and it will take more than trips to France to convince me.”

Cllr Ciara McMahon (SF) said the lease agreement between the council and Cadence only allows the company to have a base for its planning application.

Ms McMahon said: “One cannot submit an application for planning permission without a site. This is all we have permitted — to allow this avenue to be explored with real consultation and consideration for many factors including environment, traffic and noise pollution.

“If this proposal is deemed inadequate on any condition within the planning process, or the EPA, and it does not meet the strict conditions then this proposal does not go ahead and the land is returned to the council.”