Peat Power

Old and new peat fired power stations of the Irish Electricity Supply Board at Shannonbridge on the River Shannon. The old Shannonbridge plant at the right was closed after an accident in February 2004 when a high-pressure pipe at the plant exploded. The plant was already to be decommissioned as part of the planned closure of all six peat-fuelled stations in the country at that time. It was demolished in 2009. The station used three generating units to produce electricity, each with its own boiler, turbine and generator. Units 1 and 2 were commissioned in 1965 and 1976 respectively, each with a capacity of 40MW, while a more modern unit 3 was commissioned in 1982 at a capacity of 45MW.

Subsequently in 2004 the new 150 megawatt West Offaly station at the left was opened and this was supplied with around 1 million tons of peat annually by Bord na Mona. On 11 December 2020 the station ceased all power production after permission to continue burning peat was refused. This plant housed a single boiler/turbine unit with an electrical output of 135 MW.

A hybrid 97 MW / 170 MWh synchronous condenser / battery storage power station grid stability plant started construction at the site in 2022, expected to complete by 2024 a cost of €130 million.