25K National Guard Troops for Inaugurati... Tue Jan 19, 2021 19:01 | Exavier Saskagoochie
Two Years to Stop the Spread: Australia ... Tue Jan 19, 2021 17:58 | Jordan Schachtel
Mass Call Up of Unarmed Troops Needed to... Tue Jan 19, 2021 15:25 | Marko Marjanović
Russia Withdraws From Open Skies Treaty ... Tue Jan 19, 2021 14:08 | Om Marathe
After Family Fights to Use ‘Experiment... Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:58 | Dan Herbeck Anti-Empire >>
A bird's eye view of the vineyard
Welcome to the ?New Woke USA?: Twerk on Washington! Tue Jan 19, 2021 22:31 | The Saker The following exhibition is supposed to be, quote, “Twerk on Washington is a declaration of freedom and healing”. I want to sincerely congratulate all the Apostles for Diversity who made
Moveable Feast Cafe 2021/01/19 ? Open Thread Tue Jan 19, 2021 21:30 | Herb Swanson 2021/01/19 21:30:03Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of
Baghdad on the Potomac: Welcome to the Blue Zone Tue Jan 19, 2021 17:52 | amarynth By Pepe Escobar, exclusively for the Saker Blog The season opening of the Joe and Kammy Regime Change Show could not be a more appropriate roomful of mirrors reflecting the
Iran Expands Intelligence Network Near Jordan And Israel Tue Jan 19, 2021 16:39 | amarynth South Front The situation in Syria?s Idlib appears to be, once again, on the brink of escalation, with the US preoccupied with what?s happening at home, and Turkey attempting to
What is to be Done? Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:55 | amarynth By Sushi for the Saker Blog Above is the sole extant image which conveys the attendance at the Save America rally held in President’s Park on January 6th, 2021. It The Saker >>
A Blog About Human Rights
Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights
Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights
Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights
Turkish President Calls On Greece To Comply With Human Rights on Syrian Refugee Issues Wed Mar 04, 2020 17:58 | Human Rights
US Holds China To Account For Human Rights Violations Sun Oct 13, 2019 19:12 | Human Rights Human Rights in Ireland >>
The Party and the Ballot Box Sun Jul 14, 2019 22:24 | Gavin Mendel-Gleason
On The Decline and Fall of The American Empire and Socialism Sat Jan 26, 2019 01:52 | S. Duncan
What is Dogmatism and Why Does It Matter? Wed Mar 21, 2018 08:10 | Sylvia Smith
The Case of Comrade Dallas Mon Mar 19, 2018 19:44 | Sylvia Smith
Review: Do Religions Evolve? Mon Aug 14, 2017 19:54 | Dara McHugh Spirit of Contradiction >>
|
€474 million in public money depended on Commissioner for Energy Regulator decision
national |
environment |
press release
Friday January 17, 2020 22:01 by foie - Friends of the Irish Environment

Press Release - Friends of the Irish Environment 16th Jan 2020
Release of Biomass Power Station records halted
€474 million in public money depended on Commissioner for Energy Regulator decision
The release of documentation concerning the Commissioner for Energy Regulation’s [CER] decision not to renew a 100% certificate of High Efficiency to Mayo Renewable Power Supply Ltd. for a proposed €255m high-efficiency biomass combined heat and power plant [HE CHP] in Killala, County Mayo was halted at the last moment by the Commissioner for Environmental Information [CEI]. PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 January 2020
Release of Biomass Power Station records halted
€474 million in public money depended on Commissioner for Energy Regulator decision
The release of documentation concerning the Commissioner for Energy Regulation’s [CER] decision not to renew a 100% certificate of High Efficiency to Mayo Renewable Power Supply Ltd. for a proposed €255m high-efficiency biomass combined heat and power plant [HE CHP] in Killala, County Mayo was halted at the last moment by the Commissioner for Environmental Information [CEI].
The release was stopped after an appeal by an unnamed third party on the grounds that they ‘would be incriminated by the disclosure of the environmental information on 11 December, the day before the files were due to be transferred to the requestor, the environmental charity Friends of the Irish Environment [FIE].
First refused as a peat plant by An Bord Pleanala in 2008 as it "would be contrary to the national policy to reduce power generation from peat as a source of fuel", an approval was given to a revised proposal using imported wood chips and locally sourced biomass in 2012.
To be built at the old Ashai site, 350 jobs were promised in the construction phase. Up to 30 people were to be employed full-time at the plant and over 100 people employed indirectly in growing, harvesting, transport and other ancillary services associated with the plant. It was envisaged the operation would eventually create 350 jobs, with the 45 megawatt biomass plant supplying power to over 70,000 homes in the region.
Announced by the Taoiseach as ‘part of the recovery that is beginning to spread to every region of Ireland’ and ‘a vote of confidence in the Irish economy’ in 2015, the half-finished project went into liquidation in a year later with €125m of debt, €30m of which was owed to trade creditors.
It’s assets were sold in 2017 for a reported €10m to the original backers, American investor Gerald Crotty and associates, who applied for a renewal of the Certificate for a new company, Mayo Renewable, under the same ownership.
New consents were was given by Mayo County Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Electricity Supply Networks in 2018. However, the revised application led to the CER issuing a Certificate with a rate of 18% instead of the original 100% which put the commercial viability of the project in question.
HE CHP certificates allow payments under the renewable energy feed-in tariff REFIT. Renewable power producers are ensured of a minimum fixed price for the electricity they sell, funded by electricity customers through the public service obligation, PSO, levy charged to their electricity bills.
The original proposal used cheap imported wood pellets to dry Irish biomass yielding an expensive product, but the revised proposal took 70% of this product to replace the biomass, failing to meet the CRU statutory requirements for energy saving.
According to the presentation to the Oireachtas Committee by one of the Commissioners, ‘a plant of a similar scale to Mayo Renewable Limited, with a 100% certificate and operating at full output, could be in the order of €31.6 million annually, based on 2019 figures. If similar payments were made each year for the 15 years of the REFIT scheme, the total payable could amount to €474 million.’
FIE is a party to a case seeking to have the European Court of Justice review the European Commission’s approval of woody biomass for renewable energy subsidies.
ENDS
[1] https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/joint_committee_on_communications_climate_action_and_environment/2019-04-02/2/#spk_145
Copyright © 2020 Friends of the Irish Environment, All rights reserved.
Press Release
Our mailing address is:
Friends of the Irish Environment
Kilcatherine
Eyeries, Cork P75 CX53
Ireland
|