Windfarms: Chemical engineer takes government to High Court

Swords, an IChemE Fellow, is forcing a judicial review of the Irish renewable energy programme later this month on the basis that the government did not undertake the legally-required environmental assessments or seek public input before establishing its policy.

Swords disagrees with Ireland’s policy of building wind turbines to cut carbon emissions. By his own calculations, he says the government is forcing the public to fund a €15bn (US$19.6bn) building programme for wind turbines that have an operational lifespan of just 15 years and save only €5m worth of carbon emissions per year.

“The solution is disproportionate to the goal and is not legally compliant,” he tells tce.

Swords is seeking to have the High Court quash the government’s renewables programme and rule that no more planning permissions or funding arrangements for projects can be agreed until the necessary assessments and consultations have been undertaken.

He says there must be an adequate consideration of alternative engineering schemes.

Cheaper routes for Ireland to reduce emissions and generate renewable energy include replacing landfill sites with waste-to-energy plants. The methane produced by waste degrading in landfill is 20 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

“The point is that when one looks at both the potential to prevent the downstream methane emissions from landfills and the renewable energy which can be obtained, then clearly the annual emission savings are in excess of the 1.1m t derived from the wind energy programme,” says Swords.

He calculates that this option would cost just €1.5bn and the plants would last for 35 years.

“It is time that normal cost-benefit rules are applied,” he says.

The court case is set to begin on 15 January.

The Chemical Engineer | January 8, 2013