Shannon LNG has confirmed that it has begun pre-application consultation with An Bord Pleanála regarding the development of a liquefied natural gas terminal and power station on the Shannon estuary in Co Kerry.
An Bord Pleanála refused permission for the development at the company's 600 acre site in September last year.
At the time, the planning authority said the decision was based on Government policy on the importation of fracked gas, adding that it would be inappropriate to permit or proceed with the development of any LNG terminals in Ireland pending the review of energy supply.
Shannon LNG said its latest proposal seeks to deliver the key recommendations of the Government's Security of Supply Report published in November last year, which advised that Ireland urgently needs a Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve.
It advised that the facility would comprise a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit ship moored to a jetty with a gas pipeline connection to the national gas grid.
The company said the facility will be owned and controlled by the State, and that its application proposes to provide the necessary infrastructure to facilitate that.
Shannon LNG said this is the approach taken by the National Oil Reserve Agency, which owns and controls the State's national oil reserves which are held in storage tanks owned and operated by a private firm on Whiddy Island in County Cork.
The Government’s Security of Supply Report emphasises that the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve is designed to derisk the country’s gas supply during the transition to renewables. The report also confirms that "There is a limited number of locations in Ireland that are likely to meet the required site conditions for berthing a transitional FSRU".
Shannon LNG said its site, which is located near Tarbert in County Kerry, with its sheltered deepwater access and permitted gas pipeline is the ideal location for the facility.
It said the site also has the unique advantage of having completed five years of specialist survey work and pre-application analyses.
