GE/GAMA to build Bord Gáis Cork plant

Victor

While it is in a useful location - next to the oil refinery, the landling point for Kinsale gas and is on the electricity grid - it doesn't seem to have any nearby customer - the vast bulk of electricty use is in the Ringaskiddy, Little Island and city areas.

http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/0808/bordgais.html

GE/GAMA to build Bord Gáis Cork plant
Wednesday, 8 August 2007 11:27

Bord Gáis has appointed a GE/GAMA consortium to build its new €400m power plant in Cork, and says up to 300 people will be employed during construction, to start in October.

The proposed plant will be located within the ConocoPhillips refinery site at Whitegate in east Cork and is expected to start operating in early 2010.

The contract was awarded to GE/GAMA following a 10 month tendering process.

Dave Kirwan of Bord Gáis said: 'We will now start meeting again with the local residents and businesses to discuss our construction plans and explain how we intend to manage the project so as to cause least possible disruption in the area.'

Planning permission was granted by Cork County Council and arrangements for the electricity grid and gas pipeline connections are in place.

Bord Gáis entered the electricity supply business in 2001 and holds about 8% of the total Irish market.

maniac101

Victor wrote:

While it is in a useful location - next to the oil refinery, the landling point for Kinsale gas and is on the electricity grid - it doesn't seem to have any nearby customer - the vast bulk of electricty use is in the Ringaskiddy, Little Island and city areas.

There's a transmission line from Whitegate crossing the harbour via Cobh so the consumers in Ringaskiddy are not that far.

What I find interesting about this development is that it's a closed-cycle gas plant, which is best suited to supplying baseload demand. The ESB will be building a similar plant only a couple of kms away in Aghada. Because the output of these CCGT plants is not variable (or at least not efficiently variable) they'll effectively restrict the penetration of wind and other variable renewable technologies in the future. The development of CCGT plants is completely at odds with Green Party policy. All local GP politicians were opposed to these developments.

See Sarah Iremonger...

..and Quentin Gargan.

Eamonn Ryan also spoke out against the developments before he became minister. Ireland will now have more baseload plant than it needs, thus ruling out development of a nuclear power plant on the island.

By letting these developments slip through, the energy minister has quietly, effectively and adeptly put the nuclear debate to bed!!

spacetweek

maniac101 wrote:

By letting these developments slip through, the energy minister has quietly, effectively and adeptly put the nuclear debate to bed!!

But that seems to be what the majority want, in any case.