 |
| A public meeting about the project in Kilcullen in 2023. |
The community
campaign against a battery energy storage system at Dunnstown says changes made to the project have reduced some hazards but increase others,
writes Brian Byrne.
Two Mile House Says No were responding to the news that the BESS project
has received planning permission from An Coimisiún Pleanála, following a resubmitted appeal.
The campaigners say that the changes to the Strategic Power Projects Limited plan prove the original concerns identified by the community — thermal runaway, toxic gas release, explosion, and contaminated firewater running off into the Curragh aquifer — had been valid. "When the proposal first came forward in 2021, the developer's position was that it posed no risk to the surrounding community," TMHSN's response says. "Five years of residents' work has shown otherwise."
The changes include a switch in battery chemistry from lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) to lithium iron phosphate (LFP), a halving of the battery storage area, purpose-built battery modules instead of adapted shipping containers, and an on-site water supply and containment of contaminated runoff to protect the aquifer. There's also improved access for emergency vehicles.
But TMHSN notes that while LFP batteries are harder to ignite, University of Sheffield studies found that such cells can release more than ten times as much hydrogen fluoride per unit of stored energy as NMC, and concluded that LFP is the more toxic of the two. LFP vent gas also becomes explosive at lower concentrations and is more likely to escape unburned, raising the risk of a vapour cloud explosion.
A continuing and major concern of the campaign is that no statutory body in Ireland is responsible for the operational safety of grid-scale BESS. There is no requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment, the COMAH regulations do not apply, and neither the EPA nor the Health and Safety Authority has jurisdiction.
"Communities across the country are now facing the same questions we faced in 2021," says TMHSN spokesman Hugh Dillon. "If the Government set mandatory safety standards and gave one body responsibility for enforcing them, communities would be protected and developers would face far fewer objections and delays. Good regulation works in everyone's favour."
The project was originally rejected by Kildare County Council in 2021, a decision overturned on appeal by An Bord Pleanála in September 2022. That decision was subsequently quashed by order of the High Court in March 2024.
The case was reactivated and lodged again on 16 April 2024, and the latest permission was granted on 15 September. A proposed substation related to the project is currently the subject of a strategic infrastructure development pre-application consultation with ACP.
Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy
_St._Paul's_Bay%20(1).jpeg)
.jpeg)
