Low-carbon power station plan for Belfast's Harbour Estate

A planning application will be submitted later this year which would allow Belfast Power Ltd - a division of the Evermore Group - will develop the 400-megawatt facility at the city’s Harbour Estate.

The company said the new power station will “form a key part of Northern Ireland’s new low-carbon electricity infrastructure” and it is understood that the funding process is at an advanced stage.

Evermore currently operates a biomass-fuelled power plant at Londonderry Port generating enough energy to supply 25,000 homes and businesses in the area – the largest renewable energy project in Northern Ireland to date.

Commenting on its latest project, the company said: “Belfast Power Limited intends to submit a planning application for the project to the Department for Infrastructure later this year.

“However, before doing so, the company will undertake extensive pre-application community consultation and stakeholder engagement.”

It is expected that full details of the project, including the gas-fired power station technology and delivery timeline, will be published in the coming weeks.

The new project has been unveiled as some of the Province’s existing major power stations near the end of their working lives – including some of the older generating units at the gas and oil-powered Ballylumford near Larne.

Kilroot power station near Carrickfergus will also face strict emission tests from 2021 onwards which will force the operators to reduce production capacity.

The new Belfast plant will use state-of-the-art Siemens gas-fired technology.