‘Moral duty’ to scale back and close power plant at Moneypoint

As environmental groups warn that decisions must be made about the future of the country’s biggest power plant and biggest producer of greenhouse gases, the ESB has said it saves customers up to €200m a year in electricity bills.

Moneypoint, Co Clare, is the only coal-fired station in the country and, due to the cost of US coal and carbon being at a historic low in European markets, it is currently the cheapest way of generating electricity in Ireland and so is significantly pushing down electricity prices.

However a recent white energy paper, ‘Ireland’s Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future’, has warned that key decisions on the future of Moneypoint will have to be taken in the next three and a half years.