Power Station Closures - Where’s The Logic?
I don’t understand the logic and the long-term thinking of closing power stations. News is breaking this morning that the ESB is set to close a number of power stations before handing their running over to a new state agency. Tarbert looks set to be a dead cert to be closed down.The Irish Economy is already facing an uncertain power generation future. Nuclear energy is still a taboo subject even though we are effectively using it through the Interconnect. Slowly, we are realising that present methods of generating power are inefficient and that new technology will have to be used. With nuclear being a poison chalice and biomass a tough ROI sell, closing power stations will hasten tough decisions on Ireland’s electricity supply.
Stable power supply is an essential element for generating inward investment from major international firms. With a cloud over the power sector, confidence will undoubtedly be hit and investment strangled. This is a rosy assessment of implications of closing power stations. More immediately, threats of striking power workers and supply outages are a distinct possibility. Why are we cutting our bridging power supply advantage to the future?