Bord na Mona advances plan for massive Offaly gas-fired power station

BORD na Mona has begun a pre-application consultation in relation to its plan for a 600 MW gas-fired power station in north Offaly.

The pre-application process began with An Bord Pleanala on February 24 and the planning board says Bord na Móna Powergen Ltd is proposing a two-unit power plant on land in the Derrygreenagh Bog group, which lies between Rhode and Rochfortbridge.

There will be a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) unit and an open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) unit.

In April 2010 Bord na Mona was first granted planning permission for a natural gas-fired 430MW CCGT unit and and a distillate/natural gas-fired 170MW OCGT unit.

Speaking about that project in November 2021, a Bord na Mona spokesperson said: “The company is reviewing options to develop new generation capacity on this site in light of the current pressure on the electricity system.”

At that time a local Fine Gael councillor, Noel Cribbin, said that if the power plant got the go-ahead it would be “absolutely massive for north Offaly and for the whole Midlands”.

“This isn't just big for the Midlands, it's big for Ireland. You can imagine what that would be worth to the Irish economy,” said Cllr Cribbin.

“Certainly we wouldn't have worries with rates from now on if we could get something like that.”

In a combined cycle unit, the gas turbine generator generates electricity with the waste heat from the gas turbine used to make steam to generate additional electricity via a heat recovery steam generator and a steam turbine.

An open gas cycle unit involves linking a single gas turbine to a generator. It can be powered up within 20 minutes and such plants are often used for 'peaking' purposes when extra power is needed by the grid quickly.

Bord na Mona operates the 118 MW peat and biomass co-fired power station, Edenderry Power, near Clonbullogue. The burning of peat there is being phased out.

It also supplies electricity to the grid from two wind farms in north and east Offaly, one at Mountlucas and another at Cloncreen. It has begun work on another wind farm at Derrinlough in the west of the county.