£300m gas power station approved for Northern Ireland

A £300m state-of-the-art gas power plant has been given approval in Northern Ireland, with plans for it to generate up to half of the region's electricity needs at peak times.

The Department for Infrastructure has approved several major projects recently in the abence of a governing Assembly in Northern Ireland. Civil Servants in charge of the department have already approved a £208m spend on the new Belfast Transport Hub to replace the Europa bus centre and train station complex.

Now the department has given the green light to a £300m gas-fired power plant to be built at Belfast Harbour by firm Belfast Power Limited. The company is headed up by director Ciaran Devine, who has already completed a smaller £83m biomass power plant in Derry under the company Evermore. Once online, the new power plant is expected to produce up to half of Northern Ireland's peak electricity needs.

The gas-fired plant will be the most efficient of its kind in the UK and Ireland when it's completed in 2022, and has been designed specifically to minimise carbon emissions compared to existing infrastructure. Construction on the project will create up to 700 jobs, though the final plant will require only an estimated 35 full-time staff. These roles will be in a variety of roles, including engineering and tech focused positions.

Source: Ulster Business, Belfast Telegraph