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Released May 11, 2020 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Plans to build Ireland's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal have run into a major road block after the European Court of Justice stated that its current grant of permission is invalid.
The controversial 500 million-euro ($539 million) project, spearheaded by U.S. group New Fortress Energy, was granted permission in 2008 to construct an import terminal with gas send-out capacity of up to 28.3 cubic meters per day (1 billion cubic feet per day), a jetty capable of receiving LNG ships of up to 266,000 cubic metres capacity and up to four LNG storage tanks, each of 200,000 cubic metres capacity. Industrial Info is tracking all of the key projects. The terminal will be located near Tarbert in County Kerry on the southwest coast of the country. However, the project has faced significant protest from environmental groups and Hollywood celebrities protesting that the plant will receive gas from the U.S. obtained via the controversial method known as fracking, or hydraulic fracturing. In 2017, the developers sought an extension to the permission granted in 2008 as it was to expire in 2018. This was granted by the Irish planning appeals board, An Bord Pleanála, but has faced a number of legal challenges.
In recent weeks, European Court of Justice said that the extension was not valid. Advocate General Juliane Kokott advised that the planning extension to 2023 should not have been granted without an environmental impact assessment (EIA) being carried out. The Irish High Court had sought the opinion of the European Court of Justice as part of a legal challenge to the project by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE). If the High Court accepts Advocate General Kokott's advice, the developers will be forced to carry out a the environmental assessment and reapply for planning permission.
Recommending that a new EIA be carried out, Kokott concluded: "An earlier assessment of the same plan or project can rule out that risk only in so far as it contains complete, precise and definitive findings capable of removing all reasonable scientific doubt as to the effects of the works. Therefore, the screening test must also close any gaps in that earlier assessment and take account of whether the project has been changed in the meantime and whether other plans and projects have been added which, together with the plan or project under assessment, could have a significant effect on the site, and, moreover, whether there have been any changes in the protected habitats and species concerned and whether any new scientific knowledge is available."
The project also might be blocked by the new Irish government being formed with the possible help of the Green Party, which has always opposed the project. In a joint letter from the main coalition parties to the Green Party, they suggested a willingness to mothball the LNG project in place by other local energy projects that would include renewable energy.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The controversial 500 million-euro ($539 million) project, spearheaded by U.S. group New Fortress Energy, was granted permission in 2008 to construct an import terminal with gas send-out capacity of up to 28.3 cubic meters per day (1 billion cubic feet per day), a jetty capable of receiving LNG ships of up to 266,000 cubic metres capacity and up to four LNG storage tanks, each of 200,000 cubic metres capacity. Industrial Info is tracking all of the key projects. The terminal will be located near Tarbert in County Kerry on the southwest coast of the country. However, the project has faced significant protest from environmental groups and Hollywood celebrities protesting that the plant will receive gas from the U.S. obtained via the controversial method known as fracking, or hydraulic fracturing. In 2017, the developers sought an extension to the permission granted in 2008 as it was to expire in 2018. This was granted by the Irish planning appeals board, An Bord Pleanála, but has faced a number of legal challenges.
In recent weeks, European Court of Justice said that the extension was not valid. Advocate General Juliane Kokott advised that the planning extension to 2023 should not have been granted without an environmental impact assessment (EIA) being carried out. The Irish High Court had sought the opinion of the European Court of Justice as part of a legal challenge to the project by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE). If the High Court accepts Advocate General Kokott's advice, the developers will be forced to carry out a the environmental assessment and reapply for planning permission.
Recommending that a new EIA be carried out, Kokott concluded: "An earlier assessment of the same plan or project can rule out that risk only in so far as it contains complete, precise and definitive findings capable of removing all reasonable scientific doubt as to the effects of the works. Therefore, the screening test must also close any gaps in that earlier assessment and take account of whether the project has been changed in the meantime and whether other plans and projects have been added which, together with the plan or project under assessment, could have a significant effect on the site, and, moreover, whether there have been any changes in the protected habitats and species concerned and whether any new scientific knowledge is available."
The project also might be blocked by the new Irish government being formed with the possible help of the Green Party, which has always opposed the project. In a joint letter from the main coalition parties to the Green Party, they suggested a willingness to mothball the LNG project in place by other local energy projects that would include renewable energy.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
