Go-ahead for Kells plant appealed

Planning approval for a power station and wood briquette production plant at Balrath, Kells, has been appealed to An Bord Pleanala. Meath County Council recently granted planning permission to Shamrock Renewable Fuels Ltd for a bio-energy plant at Balrath with the potential to create up to 140 new jobs but the decision has been appealed to Bord Pleanala by three local objectors. The planning appeals board is due to give a decision by 3rd August next. Shamrock Renewable Fuels Ltd, a joint venture between Farrelly Brothers of Carnaross and HDS Energy of Kells Business Park, is proposing a renewable fuel plant where willow and other wood is converted into carbon neutral fuels, including wood briquettes and wood pellets. The proposed development comprises of an extension of an established wood and energy crop storage, drying and processing facility manufacturing biofuel products. The heat generated to manufacture these products would also generate sufficient electricity to run the plant while also providing 12mW of electriticy for export to the national grid. Three objections to the proposal have been lodged with Bord Pleanala by local residents. According to Shamrock Renewal Fuels, the proposed plans will create up to 140 jobs, 70 jobs on-site and a further 70 in transport to the facility and there will be 130 to 150 jobs in the construction phase. Patrick Farrelly of Farrelly Brothers has said that there would also be a spin-off in the Kells area from farmers growing willow. If the project gets the go-ahead, the construction phase is expected to last around 18 months and it should then take a further three months to commission the plant. The company is currently running a national campaign to encourage farmers to grow willow, an energy crop that can be harvested after three years - compared to 35 years for more traditional forestry. The wood briquettes and pellets which they hope to manufacture at Balrath are carbon neutral. The process involves drying the wood and, as part of that process, they will also generate electricity. Mr Farrelly has said that, initially, the plant would use forestry thinnings (young trees harvested when thinning out young forests) as well as willow, but as time goes on, willow would make up the bulk of the wood used.