Glinsk Hydro project -letter to Mayo County Councillors

Dear Councillor,
I am writing to you about the proposed hydro storage plant at Glinsk -Glenamoy.
I am sceptical of the merits of this plan for the area and the county. I am particularly concerned that the company may fail after a few years, leaving noone to restore the environment in this location.

This project combines a very high environmental impact, with a very speculative business model. High up front capital costs, slow repayment and fast moving developments in rival technologies combine to make this a very vulnerable business model.

On the other hand, the scale of interference with the landscape that is proposed in this scheme is very significant, visible and permanent.
Therefore, I am concerned that if the project fails, or is overtaken by technological or other developments in the energy sector, then we will be left with a defunct, derelict, dangerous and disfiguring plant, which noone will realistically return to its previous condition.

Considering the very limited benefits that will accrue to the locality (a handful of jobs, and possibly a connection to the local grid at some unspecified stage in the future) and the risk of the project failing and leaving behind a uselessly disfigured landscape -I think we should be very sceptical about it.

We need to either establish more convincing benefits for the area, or some sort of provision for cleaning up the site in the event of the project being abandoned. At present, though the project has merit -it has significant risk built into it, which we should address now, before approval, all the time hoping that such preparations will never be needed.