By Isabella Kaminski

Development and operation of the geothermal project, which is based at Greenogue Business Park in County Dublin, has been approved. It will consist of the initial drilling of two deep wells to an approximate depth of 4000 m.

The wells will be used for the extraction and re-injection of natural hot geothermal water. The heat from the water will then be used to operate a geothermal electricity generation plant that will generate up to 4.5 MW of electricity which will be fed into the National Grid.

SLR Consulting, a UK-based environmental consultancy, worked on behalf of Newcastle Energy to submit the planning application along with an environmental impact statement. Planning permission was granted by South Dublin County Council within just four months with no third party appeals against the decision.

Tim Paul, Managing Director for SLR Ireland, says: “The comprehensive scoping and pre-planning consultation carried out in conjunction with Newcastle Energy Ltd, together with the high quality of the application documentation combined to ensure a successful planning decision in a very short time frame.”

Padraig Hanly, Managing Director of Newcastle Energy, adds: “SLR’s expertise made sure the planning process was seamless and that permission for the development was granted in a short time period.”