| Press Releases |
Press Release 23rd February 2010 - Bord Gais CEO confirms Shannon LNG gas will be for export'Safety Before LNG' has condemned the admission by Bord Gais CEO John Mullins that gas from the proposed Shannon LNG project will be for export to the UK making Ireland a net exporter of Gas. Speaking at a public meeting on "Future Energy Developments in North Kerry", organised by Fine Gael North Kerry T.D. Jimmy Deenihan at Tarbert on February 22nd, the CEO further admitted that there is ongoing confusion over whether there will be a separate pipeline for Endesa - the new owners of the ESB power station at Tarbert - for its proposed new 450 Megawatt gas-fired power plant at Tarbert or whether it will use the proposed Shannon LNG pipeline from Tarbert to the national grid at Foynes. 'Safety Before LNG' stated that it is shocked at the idea that the new power plant would be totally dependent on the Cayman-Island owned Shannon LNG because the gas cannot flow in both directions in the one pipeline and Endesa would therefore become a hostage to Shannon LNG - a company that has a reported loss of nearly 20 million euros up to the end of 2008, as reported in the Irish Examiner of February 19th 2010. It is also bizarre that a gas power plant is being planned with no real idea of how it would connect to the national grid if the Shannon LNG project does not go ahead. The Bord Pleanála oral hearing into the Shannon LNG terminal was told that 37 shiploads of LNG were all that were needed to fulfill Ireland's electricity-generation needs in 2007 and that the 125 yearly shiploads of LNG coming up the Shannon Estuary would therefore mainly be for export. CEO John Mullins' confirmation that it will now be for export makes a mockery of the claim that the LNG is in the national interest. It seems that Ireland's energy policy is being decided on a fossil-fuel developer-lead, first-come first-served basis with no consideration for the health and safety of people on the estuary or for the renewable energy sector which will not be able to compete with the imported LNG, which is, after all, still a fossil fuel. -ENDS - Notes to Editor: Attached is the Irish Examiner article entitled " Shannon LNG reports accumulated losses of €20 million" (4.5MB) of February 19th 2010. |