Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 20 November 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Supporting a Just Transition: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. Jim Dollard:

Regarding the future of the plants, we are very disappointed that our application was not successful. We saw those plants as part of our transition into a different future. However, our planning application was unsuccessful. The nature of that failure in the planning process means that there is no future for the current configuration on those sites. That gives me no pleasure, but it is the case. The existing planning permission for the site requires us to dismantle it within two years of the end of operation of the plant, which will be at the end of next year. We will be obliged to have dismantled the station by the end of 2022. We will seek other uses for electricity infrastructure. It is an important site and we will seek to pursue other opportunities for it but the current plant and infrastructure will have to be dismantled under current planning.