Large turnout to Dunnstown BESS meeting
An appeal for regulation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) technology was made at a packed public meeting last night organised by the Two Mile House Says NO campaign, writes Brian Byrne.
Upwards of 70 residents from the area attended the event in The Brown Bear to hear an update on the situation regarding plans to site Europe's largest BESS in Dunnstown.
The developer, Strategic Power Projects Limited, was granted permission last September by An Bord Pleanala, overturning Kildare County Council's initial refusal of permission in 2021. The local community is now seeking a Judicial Review of the ABP decision.
Outlining the substantial costs which such a review will entail, the campaign's Hugh Dillon asked those present to consider financial support for the legal challenge, in addition to a number of fundraising initiatives which are planned.
Earlier in the meeting he had summarised the underlying reasons why the community, from the start, had been against the siting of the BESS in Dunstown. These include environmental and biodiversity issues as well as risks of fire, explosion, and consequent emission of highly toxic gases related to large concentrations of lithium battery systems.
Mr Dillon noted that dealing with climate change is the biggest priority for the planet and 'we all will have to make sacrifices', but the rights of all stakeholders must be considered in any developments involving hazardous technologies. He reiterated the campaign's concern that there is currently no regulation or Government departmental 'ownership' of BESS developments, and they don't even require environmental impact assessments.
Campaign member Aidan Farrell, an engineer by profession, presented details of the access difficulties on narrow country roads, bringing daily HGV traffic during the construction phases. He also highlighted the unsuitability of the project's design and location in the event of a battery fire incident requiring access by emergency services and possible evacuation of the local community. The inadequacy of the county's current fire service resources in dealing with such an incident was also noted.
The campaign's Eleanor Wauchob provided extensive details of fire incidents in BESS installations around the world, now numbering over 50, and the difficulties which emergency services much better resourced than in Kildare had experienced in dealing with them. All of these involved installations very much smaller than the 212MW one proposed for Dunnstown.
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| Aidan Farrell, Hugh Dillon and Eleanor Wauchob. |
A more comprehensive report from the meeting will follow.
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| Cllrs Suzanne Doyle and Tracey O'Dwyer with Minister Martin Heydon. |
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| Senator Vincent Martin, Cllr Rob Power and Deputy Cathal Berry. |
