THE POOLBEG INCINERATOR in Dublin is operating now at full capacity after a series of performance tests.
The Dublin Waste to Energy project is a public private partnership between Dublin City Council and recycling and energy company Covanta.
According to its operator, the waste-to-energy facility is processing approximately 1,800 tonnes of solid waste per day.
It’s allowing Ireland’s eastern region to become self-sufficient in managing waste and complying with EU landfill diversion targets.
It’s also generating 60 megawatts of continuous electricity which is exported onto the national grid – enough to power 80,000 Irish homes.
A number of third-party tests were carried out to ensure that the incinerator was complying with emission limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Covanta said that the results of the tests showed that the emissions were well below the limits.
John Daly, general manager of the facility, said that they were delighted to operating at full capacity.
“As with any major infrastructure project, there are challenges along the way, but I’m proud of the way our team has persevered and overcome any difficulties in the commissioning process,” he said.
The outstanding results from the independent emissions testing are extremely gratifying.
The facility will burn 600,000 tonnes of waste each year, the bulk of which is delivered via the Port Tunnel.
The incinerator was met with a lot of local protest before it became operational.
It started operations in June of this year, and faced a number of setbacks in that time.
Eleven people were brought to hospital in June following an ‘unscheduled’ release of lime from the plant’s fabric filter baghouse, which filters emissions during the burning process.
The EPA also found in July a “moderate” infestation of flies at the site.
On Monday, the operator of the site was given two months to decide how it will plead to breaking its environmental protection licence.
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