New plans for Tullamore waste-to-energy 'incinerator'
By Rebekah O'Reilly
Revised plans for a waste-to-energy facility near Tullamore are being proposed.
Glanpower Ltd is seeking to change the technology of a previously approved waste-to-energy facility at Derryclure, south of Tullamore, and to expand the intake of municipal solid waste.
The company is seeking to secure permission to increase the amount of waste the facility can accept from 75,000 tonnes per year to 200,000 tonnes.
This week, An Coimisiún Pleanála ruled that the project constituted a strategic infrastructure development, meaning that the company can submit a planning application directly to the planning commission, rather than to the local authority in the first instance.
That permission was for an advanced pyrolysis facility capable of processing up to 75,000 tonnes of biomass and municipal waste annually. It was expected to generate around 6MW of electricity for export to the national grid and 5MW of heat.
However, the permitted use was never brought into operation and the building has remained vacant. In a retention application with Offaly County Council in June of this year, documents stated that the building consisted an "unfinished open plan (up to sub floor level) with structural elements such as concrete and steel columns, beams, and roof trusses all exposed" and confirmed that "no use has taken place within this site".
Under the new proposal, Glanpower wants to replace the previously approved pyrolysis system with an advanced thermal treatment plant using gasification and oxidation.
The proposed Commercially Robust Advanced Conversion Technology facility would process up to 200,000 tonnes of residual municipal solid waste annually and generate approximately 11.64MW of electricity for export to the national grid, along with around 30.7MW of heat.
The plans include an enlarged waste reception hall, an ash bunker, several large silos, three external baghouse filters and additional processing equipment.
A new flue-gas emissions stack of approximately 40 metres is proposed, although its final height will be determined through emissions-dispersion modelling. Continuous emissions monitoring equipment would also be installed.
A 3.6km underground electricity connection is proposed between the facility and the ESB Clonminch substation.
Glanpower has held three pre-application consultation meetings with An Coimisiún Pleanála since October 2025, with discussions covering the proposed technology, waste intake, emissions and environmental impacts.
In a report published on Thursday, September 10, the planning inspector for An Coimisiún Pleanála concluded that the proposed waste-to-energy gasification plant would fall within the legal definition of a waste incineration plant.
The inspector said the gasification and oxidation process falls within the EU Industrial Emissions Directive's definition of incineration, including where gasification is followed by combustion of the resulting gases.
“I am satisfied that the proposed development would be consistent with the definition of waste incinerator plant,” the report states.
The inspector also concluded that the project would meet the national strategic importance criterion, noting Ireland's need for additional domestic waste-treatment capacity.
The National Waste Management Plan calls for between 200,000 and 300,000 tonnes of additional thermal recovery capacity.
“There is a waste treatment capacity deficit within the State which is illustrated by high levels of waste export. Ireland exported 38% of MSW in 2021 for thermal recovery and recycling,” the report states.
The inspector concluded the project would qualify as Strategic Infrastructure Development, meaning any planning application would be made directly to An Coimisiún Pleanála.