Dublin City Councillors have rejected a proposal to borrow just over €60m to finance the proposed Poolbeg incinerator.
However, City Manager John Tierney said the vote would not stop the incinerator as the money was already committed.
The only difference would be additional interest charges of €360,000 in using an overdraft facility to raise the money.
He said the money was part of the original budget and not extra expense.
Mr Tierney said the total cost of the incinerator was now projected at up to €102m, which he said is less than the original estimate of up to €120m.
The total of €61.1m required involves €50.3m for land purchase with the amount to be shared between the four Dublin local authorities.
€10.8m is needed to build a district heating system to harness energy from the plant.
