A multi-million-pound energy infrastructure project to replace coal fired generators at Kilroot power station in Carrickfergus faces further delays after Mid and East Antrim Borough Council admitted to an error in the planning process.
Planning approval for the second phase of EP UK Investment’s (EPUKI) coal replacement project at the Co Antrim power station was quashed by consent at the High Court last month.
During the September 9 hearing, the council conceded that it had failed to hold pre-determination hearings during the planning process.
The admission means the local authority must carry out the hearings before it can re-determine the applications once again.
EPUKI is the UK subsidiary of Prague-based Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH), which acquired Kilroot and Ballylumford power stations in 2019.
The energy firm successfully fired up two open cycle gas turbines at Kilroot in March this year.
It came six months after the coal fired turbines were switched off on September 30 2023, as part of the UK-wide efforts to end the use of coal for electricity generation.
Around 15% of electricity generated in the north had been sourced from coal before it was phased out.
But the next stage in EPUKI’s coal replacement project has faced delays due to a legal challenge mounted by Friends of the Earth.
The environmental campaigners have long opposed the conversion to gas generation at the site, claiming “the emissions from gas are most likely underestimated” and that the project is likely in breach of the Climate Change Act.
EPUKI’s second major phase involves the development of a new 300MW steam generator to replace one of the two former coal-fired steam generators within Kilroot’s main turbine hall.
Two planning applications were submitted to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in 2022.
The applications effectively involve two versions of the same proposed expansion project, but it’s understood EPUKI will only progress one application to the development phase.
Commenting on the development at the High Court last month, a spokesperson for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said: “The decisions have been quashed by consent on the limited ground that pre-determination hearings were not held in connection with each of the applications.
“No order was made as to the remaining grounds of challenge in each of the applications for judicial review.
“No order as to costs was made against the council.
“Following the quashing of the decisions, the council must re-determine each of the applications.”
EPUKI declined to comment.
Its parent owner, which is Europe’s biggest energy group, is controlled by billionaire Daniel Kretínský.
The legal development at Kilroot comes as the UK’s last coal-fired power station was switched off on Monday.
The closure of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power plant in Nottinghamshire marked the end of 142 years of coal power in the UK.
