Ireland's $741 Million Hydro Project Advances

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--A 650 million euro ($741 million) hydroelectric project in Ireland has take a positive step forward, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in China.

Ireland's state-owned heating and energy group, Bord na Móna (Newbridge, Kildare), signed the agreement with China's state-owned energy major PowerChina (Beijing) on a recent state visit. The Silvermines Hydro Electric Power Station Project will have a generating capacity of 360 megawatts (MW), producing enough energy to power roughly 200,000 homes when fully commissioned. The project is backed by Andritz Hydro (Hammerfest, Norway), Austrian company STRABAG SE (Vienna), Irish construction firm Roadbridge (Limerick, Ireland) and Siga Hydro (Tipperary, Ireland).

Silvermines, first announced in January last year, will be the second of its kind in the country, alongside the ESB's Turlough Hill (292 MW) facility. The plant will be developed from the existing disused open-cast mining site, where operations ceased in 1993, south of Silvermines village in North Tipperary. Detailed feasibility assessments and consultations have taken place over the past 18 months. The next step will involve a two-year planning process and an estimated build time of around four years. Up to 400 jobs will be created during construction and 50 permanent jobs on completion.

The brownfield site already has one reservoir in place in the 70 metre-deep open-cast mine, which the developers claim will allow the plant to be developed and constructed with "minimum impact and provide environmental enhancements, planning gain and community benefits--in addition to zero emissions electricity".

Launching the project last year, the then Environment Minister Alan Kelly said: "With Ireland's evolving electricity demands, we will need a more efficient, reliable, stable and more environmentally aware system than ever before that is capable of servicing software developments, datacenters and other technological industry. Projects like this are essential to generating inward investment and making Ireland attractive for employment in the future. I am glad companies such Andritz Hydro are continuing to show their commitment to investing in this country."

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