After demolition Shannonbridge site will be used for electricity storage

It is being planned to use one of the ESB's former buildings in Shannonbridge Power Station for the storage of power.
Two ESB managers met with Offaly County Council recently and discussed with them the proposal to turn the Dalton building on the site into an energy storage centre.
Dalton Centre is a sizeable building which the ESB recently handed over to the County Council following the permanent closure of the power station last December.
One of the ESB managers told the meeting the ESB has started to empty out Dalton in preparation for the installation of large storage batteries.
The councillors were also told that there is a peregrine falcon nesting on the building which will entail the drawing up of an ecology report.
"We are living in a challenging environment," continued the ESB official. "It is possible that Ireland will be hit by energy shortages during the winter."
One of the councillors asked if the roof in Dalton was made of asbestos. The ESB official said it wasn't.
The ESB managers said the ESB intends to go ahead with its plans to demolish its two closed peat-fired power plants in Shannonbridge and Lanesboro. However, Donal Phelan, Senior Manager in the Generation and Trading Directorate in the ESB, said a couple of buildings will be repurposed as battery storage hubs, and Dalton will be one of these.
He said that following a review of redevelopment options for the decommissioned plants in Lanesboro and Shannonbridge the state-owned company has decided to seek planning consent for new technology hubs to allow “greater levels of renewable energy on the grid”.
The ESB confirmed this week that the large industrial plant buildings “will be demolished” in line with the company’s planning obligations. The confirmation follows remarks from Environment and Climate Minister Eamon Ryan a couple of weeks ago that he “wouldn’t rule out” the closed plants having “a central role” in emergency measures for back-up power over the next four to five years. Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice and Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen urged Minister Ryan to provide clarity on his comments which they said had rattled affected communities in the region at a time when energy and fuel costs continue to rise.
In response the ESB issued a statement which stated: “Following the closure of both the midland stations in December 2020, a review of options for redevelopment of both sites post decommissioning was carried out and presented to the Just Transition working group.
“Based on the recommendations and conclusions drawn it was decided to seek planning consents for both the remediation and redevelopment works at both sites, which would involve the construction of electrical grid system support technology hubs that can facilitate greater levels of renewable energy generation on the grid in line with ESB’s Brighter Future Strategy.
“These technologies, which will include energy storage through the use of batteries, will be offered to the grid operator through upcoming auctions for system services.
“Using battery-stored energy is likely to become more widespread in the future as it allows peaks in demand to be met with lower carbon emissions.”
Cllr Eamon Dooley wondered who would have the final say on the matter of Shannonbridge's proposed demolition, Minister Eamon Ryan, or the state-owned company? He said battery storage hubs only create a few jobs. He highlighted the success story of Ferbane Business Park which was a joint community/ESB venture that came into existence in response to the demolition of Ferbane Power Station and which led to the creation of 80 jobs. Ferbane Business and Technology Park continues to grow, he remarked. This time round the Just Transition programme, he contended, doesn't feel as positive a response. “In fact the Just Transition fund has been a disaster. The amount of money granted is nowhere near enough and many communities cannot meet the matching funding requirements.”
Cllr John Leahy said the Just Transition fund doesn't seem to be the solution to “plug the hole” that the government's decarbonisation programme has created in Offaly.
Donal Phelan told the councillors that the ESB feels a strong affinity to Offaly and its communities and has enjoyed a positive relationship with the people of Offaly for many years. He said the company wants to see that continue.
He praised the former staff of Shannonbridge Power Station for continuing to work hard and devotedly in their jobs during the final years of the Station's life, years which were very challenging. “For example, the EPA changed the water discharge regulation which made things considerably more demanding for the staff.”
Mr Phelan denied that Minister Ryan ever suggested the power station might reopen to meet energy shortages. “What the Minister said is that the Lanesboro and Shannonbridge sites still have a role to play, such as storage batteries in the Dalton building. However, there won't be many jobs in this. The storage batteries will help us advance further towards the country's decarbonisation goals.”
Cllr Noel Cribben said the government often doesn't inspire confidence. “I sometimes wonder if the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. There is a lack of adequate planning. It was obvious that closing Shannonbridge and Lanesboro would cause energy shortage problems but that was never taken into consideration. Surely we should have erected more wind turbines and created more solar farms before closing down Shannonbridge?”
Mr Phelan said the ESB's plan had been to keep Shannonbridge open for at least another ten years and to convert to biomass, but this plan was changed. He said faults in two large power stations in Dublin and Cork had caused the recent anxiety about winter power shortages “but I think we have now handled the problem, and I think the winter is going to be OK.”