Mine plan under fire
Plans to build Northern Ireland’s first open-cast mine will unleash a wave of pollution, it was claimed tonight.
An application to dig for lignite on a 2,000 hectare site in Ballymoney, Co Antrim, is expected to be lodged within weeks.
But Friends of the Earth has attacked the £500m (€785.5m) scheme for putting profit before threats to the world’s climate.
Head of Campaigns John Woods said: “It beggars belief that Northern Ireland should countenance the idea of producing energy from the world’s most polluting fuel in terms of its greenhouse gas emissions.”
Ballymoney Power Ltd, a subsidiary of Australian mining giant AuIron Energy Ltd, is hoping to deliver six million tonnes of lignite a year by conveyor to a power station close to the town.
The power station will have the capacity to supply up to 30% of Northern Ireland’s electricity needs over a minimum of 30 years, the firm claimed.
Around 1,500 initial design and construction jobs were expected to be created along with a further 300 permanent employees.
But Mr Woods claimed carbon dioxide emissions per unit of lignite was nearly twice as much as that of natural gas.
He said: “As a society we must unite to encourage the acceptance of wind power, controversial as it sometimes is, and face down the neanderthals who would have us help destroy the world’s climate for the sake of their own profit.”
The environmentalist added that the announcement that Ballymoney Power was to seek planning permission has been timed to coincide with the suspension of the Stormont Assembly to minimise objections.
But a spokesman for the company rejected Friends of the Earth’s claims.
“We look forward to consulting with all interested parties on the nature of the development.”
He added that it was nonsense to claim the Department of Enterprise had been kept in the dark before the plans emerged after last month’s suspension.
“The company briefed the minister, Reg Empey, and his department just a few weeks ago,” the spokesman said.
“With a project of this magnitude it’s impossible to rustle up an application inside a couple of weeks.”
