A JOINT bid for the lease on the Gortadroma landfill in County Limerick by two American companies to develop a gasification plant and create 180 new jobs, has raised serious concerns among councillors in the Adare-Rathkeale area.
Cadence EnvironPower (CEP), are proposing to convert 1,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste a day into syngas at the Ballyhahill site if their bid for the landfill lease is successful. Gasification converts sustainable feed stocks such as biomass or waste into electricity and is said to generate 100 times less emissions than incineration.
Councillors from the Adare-Rathkeale ward were told this week that traffic and production would both increase “threefold” at the landfill if the American bid was successful. In operation since 1990, Gortadroma closed to commercial waste earlier this year.
Estimated to be worth €190 million over 30 years, CEP will pay Limerick City and County Council a lump sum of €50,000 on the signing of the lease agreement for the landfill. On receipt of all necessary consents and closure of their debt financing, they will then pay the local authority a further lump sum of €4 million.
According to CEP’s lease submission, the joint bid from Cadence Infrastructure LLC and EnvironPower Management Incorporated, expects construction and commissioning to take one year. When operations get under way, they will pay the council €4million a year for 30 years.
However, Cathaoirleach of Limerick City and County Council, Cllr Kevin Sheahan (FF), said while he would embrace the creation of 180 new jobs, he had huge fears for the local community.
“There’s a lot of unknowns and I won’t buy into it yet. I’m scared for the local people and I’m scared for Limerick City and County Council of the consequences.
“I will have to see one of the existing gasification plants in operation in the Far East. That’s not a junket, that’s hard work. I won’t be happy until I see it for myself. I’ve been to Asia and you can’t even see the sun because there’s so much clouds created by industry. They do not maintain the same high standards as we do in the West for the environment, so it’s not the highest reference point,” he claimed.
Fianna Fail councillor Richard O’Donoghue warned that the elected representatives for the Adare-Rathkeale area would not let anything damage the ward’s people and environment.
“We’re tough. We’re strong. We will stand up for the Rathkeale people,” he declared.
Independent councillor Emmett O’Brien pointed out that if something seems to good to be true then it usually is, while Fine Gael councillor Stephen Keary suggested councillors keep and open mind and not be sceptical.
“This could be a chance to be innovative,” said Cllr Keary.
Limerick City and County Council’s district director for Adare-Rathkeale, Tom Gilligan announced that the joint bid has still to go through a number of steps, but described the proposal as “exciting” and with “potential”.
“We have to look at all aspects of it,” said Mr Gilligan.
