An exciting deal with Silvermines disused mine site edged closer to realisation over the weekend.
Plans for a €650m hydro power station in Silvermines has taken a huge step forward following a visit by top executives from Power China Resources, the overseas arm of Power Chine Group.
Chinese and Irish consortia have now updated an agreement, expanding on the Memorandum of Understanding made earlier this year, to cover the feasibility and pre-planning next stages of the project.
Tipperary Labour TD, Alan Kelly, led visit which included political meetings with An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar and Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten. CEO of Tipperary County Council, Joe MacGrath, was also pivotal in moving talks forward with the Chinese delegation.
Partnering with Bord na Móna, the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and Silvermines project promoters, Siga-Hydro, they are set to develop a pumped hydro project in North Tipperary, the largest ever private investment in an Irish project in the history of the State.
The project will be the second hydro generator in the country, along with the ESB’s Turlough Hill facility in Wicklow. It’s planned to produce and store electricity using pump storage technologies, with a capacity to power 200,000 homes.
The Silvermines hydro-project is expected to generate 400 jobs in construction and 50 in operation.
