The field in Toomes where the power plant is earmarked for
Plans for a major electricity station at Toomes in Louth Village could be still on the cards after Louth County Council renewed Quinn Building Products Limited’s planning permission.
Plans for the 450 megawatt natural gas fired station – which was to be known the Quinn Energy (Ballakelly) Power Plant – were first approved in 2007.
However, they were subsequently shelved due to the problems that Sean Quinn and his family encountered in relation to loans from Anglo Irish Bank.
Plans for the €300m plant at Toomes were met with fierce opposition from locals when they first emerged with many fearing possible knock-on effects on their health and properties.
The station on the 14-acre site was set to be one of the biggest-ever built in Ireland and would have supplied 230,000 homes.
While the extension of the planning permission by no means guarantees the facility will be built, it does give Quinn Energy a further five years in which to progress with the project.
