Mayo town hopes to make most of new energy projects

A community energy workshop will take place in Killala this week amid a surge in local energy project developments in the area in recent years.

A decision on whether or not planning permission will be granted for the development of a data centre at the former Asahi site about 3km outside the town is due to be made by next Monday.

It had been reported in local and national media that planning permission had been granted for the data centre but Mayo County Council clarified that a decision is outstanding.

‘Mayo County Council can confirm that no decision on the application for planning permission for this development has been made. The final date for a decision in relation to this application is April 28, 2025,” said a spokesperson for the local authority.

A planning decision is also due to be made this week on the development of an 80MW battery energy storage system at this site, with another decision due to be made on a hydrogen plant and energy centre at the Asahi site by the end of May.

Planning was also granted for a 50MW Biomass plant at this location last year and other energy projects in the area include an oil-fired power station and a wind farm.

Jason McGuire, a member of the Killala Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) group which is organising the Community Energy Workshop this Thursday, told the Western People that the scale of energy developments presents Killala with challenges and opportunities.

“The opportunity is there in terms of creating an energy masterplan for the future of Killala but the challenge we have is to do with awareness,” he said. “The energy masterplan will allow us to try and make opportunities for the community and for individuals.” 

“One of things we’re trying to do is improve local knowledge of projects like the biomass plant and the data centre and get the word out to ensure community voices are part of the conversation.

“Then we can see how we can tie these things together. In an ideal world, local people would feed into these systems.” 

Mr McGuire said he would like to see the potential for district heating tapped into in Killala should plans for a data centre manifest. In district heating systems, waste heat can be captured and sent through insulated pipes to heat nearby homes and businesses.

“It is something that is done in Denmark and part of the problem is creating the heat but the heat would be there [in the data centre].

“District heating has been identified as a national priority. Yet current plans for the data centres and biomass plants don't include local heat supply, even though the potential exists to heat all homes in Killala and parts of Ballina and reduce dependency on fossil fuels,” he said.

The community energy workshop takes place this Thursday, April 24, from 6 to 8pm in Killala Community Centre.