Outrage in rural Meath as gas fired power plant gets green light
Local representatives have expressed outrage and disappointment following the planning permission granted for a controversial gas-fired plant in Kentstown, Meath.
Meath County Council approved an application by Polarisgate Ltd, seeking a 10-year planning permission for the development. The project will see the construction of three open-cycle gas turbine generators, each with a 30-metre-high stack, on a 19-acre site at Curraghtown, Brownstown. If completed, the facility could operate for up to 40 years, supplying backup electricity to the national grid.
The decision has sparked widespread frustration in the rural community, which has opposed the development on environmental, health, and climate grounds. A protest was held in Kentstown last April, and numerous public submissions were made in objection to the project.
Sinn Féin representatives TD Darren O'Rourke and Councillor Helen Meyer were among those who lodged formal objections.
“This is a very disappointing decision. The community made a large number of submissions, representing a very comprehensive and compelling case in opposition to this proposed plant. I thought Meath County Council would see the strength of that case and refuse planning. I am surprised and disappointed that they didn't.”
Cllr Meyer said: “The community invested a tremendous amount of effort into researching the detrimental effects this plant will have on all the surrounding communities. They submitted a significant number of well-researched objections and made a compelling case for why this plant should not proceed.”
“The council requested further information, which was provided, however, to our utmost surprise and disappointment, it was not adequately considered, and planning permission was granted by Meath County Council.”
She added: “ A thorough and convincing case against this proposed plant was presented. Now, the local community and their public representatives must assess this decision and determine the next course of action.”
Before the application was approved, the council had recently requested further information from the developers, seeking clarification on 21 points. These included the necessity of the plant, its environmental impact, potential effects on key heritage sites, and traffic implications.
Meanwhile Aontú councillor, Emer Tóibín, described the outcome as a “heavy blow to a rural area already carrying more than its fair share of industrial burden,” including an existing major landfill.
Cllr Tóibín said: “Once again, this community is being asked to accommodate a large-scale development with serious implications for our environment, our health, and our future.”
“There is growing frustration and confusion as to why this location has been chosen, again, for a major and visually intrusive facility, with such potentially significant environmental and health impacts.”
Cllr Tóibín also raised broader concerns about national energy policy, pointing to the increasing electricity demands of data centres across Meath and Dublin.
“Many locals, including myself, believe the bigger picture here is being ignored: the spiralling energy demand of data centres.” she said.
“These centres, concentrated across Meath and Dublin, are now using more than half of the region’s electricity. It’s putting massive pressure on the national grid, leading to proposals like this gas-fired plant to fill the gaps.”
“There’s a very real feeling that rural communities like ours are being asked to bear the brunt of decisions made far away from us. This isn’t just a planning issue, it’s a national policy failure.”
“It’s especially hard to accept when ordinary households are being hit with some of the highest electricity prices in Europe, while at the same time, the government supports further expansion of highly energy-intensive data centres. That contradiction hasn’t gone unnoticed,” Cllr Tóibín added.