Moneypoint Power Station in Co. Clare and Tarbert Power Station in Co. Kerry may continue to burn fossil fuel “for many years to come” until there are viable substitutes for energy production.
That’s according to Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, who made the comment in the Dáil yesterday (Thursday, February 24) in response to Clare independent TD Michael McNamara.
McNamara had said: “I agree with [the] vision of bringing offshore energy on to our western shores and storing it… But the technology to do that is not there now.
“I greatly look forward to when Moneypoint is not burning coal and vast amounts of wind energy are being turned into hydrogen and stored there. But that is all down the road.
“Are we going to decommission the biggest power station in the country [Moneypoint] before we have an alternative? Because that is what your government is currently planning,” the Clare deputy commented.
In response, the Tánaiste said: “There is enormous confidence that we can do what we want to do off the west coast, which is floating off-shore wind plants, plugging into Moneypoint, plugging into Tarbert, where the grid connections are already, and where we can store wind energy.”
However, Minister Varadkar also said: “It is not our intention to close Moneypoint or Tarbert until we are ready to do so.
“I don’t like the fact that we’re burning coal at Moneypoint. I don’t like that fact that we’re burning oil in Tarbert, but we do actually need to do so. And we may need to do so for many years to come.
“Those plants will not be decommissioned until we are confident that we’re able to replace them with secure supply and secure renewables, and that might take a bit of time,” the Tánaiste added.
Responding to Minister Varadkar’s comments, deputy McNamara said: “I welcome the government’s confirmation that it will maintain operations at Moneypoint and Tarbert for the foreseeable future until alternative energy sources are put in place.
“While I look forward to that day, and the decarbonisation of our energy supply, that will not take place within the next three years,” the independent TD asserted.