The ESB has indicated that it may make a decision on the future of Moneypoint Power Station this year.
The government has committed to end the burning of coal at Moneypoint by 2025, at which time it’s expected it will be replaced by low-carbon technology.
Ireland’s climate change commitments mean Moneypoint’s days as a coal-powered plant are numbered.
However, what this future will look like is still unclear.
There is an expectation that Moneypoint will continue to form part of the power supply network, but details have yet to be announced.
Clare County Council invited the ESB to brief members on its future in a motion adopted by members last year, and now the ESB has responded to this invitation.
They say the process of determining future options for Moneypoint involves looking at the wider fleet of power generation stations, and that the work is not yet completed.
Once that happens, the ESB says it’s happy to brief the Council on its plans and they indicate this will likely be later in 2019.
It means we could have clarity on Moneypoint’s future by the end of the year.
Separately, it’s been reported that the turbines at Moneypoint have been out of operation for three months due to a forced outage, though the ESB last week declined to elaborate on why.
