Safety awareness banner at Coolkeeragh ESB

Coolkeeragh ESB & the Environment

Combined Cycle Gas Turbine technology (CCGT), which is employed at the Coolkeeragh ESB plant, is the most energy efficient, environmentally friendly technology available for electricity generation from fossil fuels.

There are many benefits of CCGT to the environment over other forms of power generation in terms of efficiency, emissions and noise control, while visually the plant at Coolkeeragh is constructed on the footprint of the old station on a brown field site zoned for industrial use. Additionally, Coolkeeragh ESB had to undertake a stringent Environmental Impact Study for submission as part of the licensing and planning process before construction could begin.

Efficiency

The plant at Coolkeeragh has switched from the outdated oil-burning technology of the old power plant to Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power generation of the new generating plant.

CCGT is considered to be the most efficient and environmentally friendly method of generating electricity, as it re-harnesses energy, steam and heat produced in the first stage generation process and uses this to generate additional electricity. As a result, for the same input of energy, CCGT generates over a third more electricity than a traditional thermal power plant.

The thermal efficiency of CCGT is the highest of all forms of electricity generation based on fossil fuel combustion. The thermal efficiency of the Coolkeeragh ESB is greater than 55%, which is significantly higher than the 28% efficiency achieved by the old power plant.

Emissions

The modern sophisticated controls employed at Coolkeeragh are designed to comply with European environmental guidelines, and keep emissions to a minimum. Because Coolkeeragh burns natural gas, carbon dioxide (a 'green house' gas) emissions from the plant are halved when compared to an oil fired or coal fired plant. Additionally, there are negligible oxides of sulphur emissions.

Waste water

Waste water is kept to a minimum as a result of the technology employed by the CCGT process.

Steam, as it exhausts from the steam turbine, is condensed in a condenser using cooling water. The condensed steam is returned to the steam generator by pumps to complete a continuous process.

The water for cooling is provided by a once-through system using water extracted from and returned to the Foyle Estuary adjacent to the plant site. The water is returned to the Estuary at a quality level and temperature limit to meet environmental legislation requirements.

Noise

The modern noise control technology employed at Coolkeeragh allows the plant to operate quietly.

The CCGT plant was specifically designed to be compliant with Environmental Protection Agency guidelines and with the Environmental Impact Study, which were contingent upon the licensing and permissions for the plant.

Visual Impact

The visual scale of the CCGT plant is much smaller when compared to the existing station resulting in a reduced visual impact. The buildings are metal clad which further reduces the scale and impact of the development. The new plant has also used some of the existing on site electricity infrastructure.

Additionally, landscaping of the site ensures visual impact is kept to a minimum.

Coolkeeragh ESB Health and Safety At Work Practices

The safety of all those working on the Coolkeeragh ESB construction project was a top priority and the company has an exemplary record achieved through constant planning, awareness and vigilance among all those working on the site.

Due to the large numbers on site and the inherent hazards associated with the construction and testing of such a plant, Health and Safety was and remains a major focus point for Coolkeeragh ESB.

In conjunction with their Owners Engineer ESBI Engineering, and the Principal Contractor GE/VATech, the site achieved excess of over one million man-hours without a lost time incident reportable to the HSE Northern Ireland. In order to achieve this result and to reach such a high standard of safety, a Site Safety Improvement Plan (SSIP) was implemented after extensive research and planning. This plan involved increased safety awareness of all parties on site, implemented Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) policies, as well as regular presentations to site supervisors and innovative safety schemes that included all working on the site.

The SSIP owes its continued success to the co-operation of General Electric/VATech Hydro and the determination and Coolkeeragh ESB to lower the rate of safety related incidents and consequently improve the working environment for all employees.

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