In County Kerry, a High Court judge has reversed a prior denial for the proposed Shannon LNG gas terminal. Mr Justice Richard Humphreys delivered the ruling on Monday, rescinding An Bord Pleanála’s earlier verdict and instructed them to review the planning application in accordance with his judgement.
The project by Shannon LNG includes a power station, battery energy storage facility and a regasification site over 630 acres between Ballylongford and Tarbert. Those opposing the LNG emphasize its extraction process called fracking, which is prohibited in Ireland due to environmental and public health concerns. Detractors argue that the development of this facility would sustain reliance on fossil fuels when the nation is attempting to switch to cleaner energy sources.
In 2023, the permission for the project was denied by the board pending a review of energy supply security up until 2030. It was reasoned that the LNG scheme was against national policy and, therefore, not suitable for the planning and growth of the region. The government’s programme for 2020 stated that developing LNG gas import terminals for imported fracked gas was not a viable notion.
Mr Justice Humphreys made reference to later progressions, including the 2022 Versailles declaration made by EU leaders and the taoiseach in March. The declaration addressed the repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stating that a comprehensive review of energy supply security was necessary. The EU Council, inclusive of Ireland, unanimously resolved to collectively source gas, LNG, and hydrogen. Mr Justice Humphreys stated it shouldn’t be inferred that he was taking a stand either in favour of or against the LNG project.
The government’s policy is considered as providing guidelines, not mandatory instructions, both parties seem to agree, implies the statement. Therefore, the board can legally deviate from such policies since they only offer an advisory status, not a compliance requirement.
There was a failure on the board’s part to consider the 2023 national risk assessment acknowledging the vulnerabilities in storage and supply variety, posing a considerable threat to resource security. This policy, which was introduced after the inspection report of the board regarding the planning application and just before its decision, could potentially be seen as furnishing recent and additional policy backing to the application, the speaker noted. The board was also seen to wrongly categorise a draft consultation document as a national policy, further incorrectly using this to justify its refusal of the application.
Following these and others findings, the judge rescinded the permission and signalled his intention to instruct the board to re-evaluate and decide in accordance with the law. The parties were given a fortnight to present their arguments regarding this proposed referral.
There was a call from the judge for an actual conclusion to the long-standing energy security and gas supply policy review, which has been in process for over two years. The delay in the review was blamed by the State on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, but it should hasten the review, not prolong it, the speaker pointed out.
According to Eamon Ryan, the Minister for Energy, instead of LNG, it could be more rational to spend more on solar energy, interconnecting networks and electricity battery storage. He also noted that an analysis tackling this topic would be finalised in the upcoming months.
Fianna Fáil Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher’s response to the High Court’s decision was viewing it as a victory for common sense and Ireland’s energy security. He further added that, while renewables are expected to account for the bulk of our future energy supply, we still require backups for those periods when conditions for wind or solar power are not optimal.