Plans were lodged today for a £250 million project to store gas in caverns mined into the seabed on the Northern Ireland coast.
The architects of the scheme hope to hold 500 million cubic metres of natural gas in the proposed storage facility at Islandmagee, Co Antrim.
The group behind the project have sought planning permission for the plant which would be the first of its kind anywhere in Ireland, promising to create jobs and help secure energy supplies.
Islandmagee Storage Ltd (IMSL) want to base their facility next to the existing Ballylumford power plant. The company plans to drill into ancient salt beds almost one mile beneath Larne Lough and pump in sea water to dissolve the salt, creating seven huge caverns 160 metres high and 80 metres wide.
IMSL managing director Andrew Hindle said: "The island of Ireland currently has no natural gas storage and relies increasingly on gas imports from outside the UK.
"This proposed development at Islandmagee will make a significant contribution to the security of energy supplies and is designed to supply up to 5 per cent of UK and Ireland daily peak demand."
It is predicted that the project could create 200 construction jobs during its seven-year development, with an additional 20 to 30 longer-term operational posts.
The company said the storage method has been used across Europe over the last 40 years and claimed it could benefit the Irish and British markets.
Mr Hindle added: "The submission of this planning application today represents a major milestone on the road to making this very important infrastructure development a reality.
"We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the industry, government, community and regulator during the project."
Surveys are said to have found that Larne Lough was the only location in Ireland that held salt deposits that were sufficiently thick to create the storage caverns.
The company claimed that because the proposed location is next to existing gas and electricity infrastructures, the impact on the environment would be reduced.
IMSL non-executive director Paddy Larkin said: "The Islandmagee Storage Project is strategically important for the future competitiveness of Northern Ireland — companies seeking to invest here in the future will require energy security and stable prices, which gas storage can contribute to."
He added: "The project has the potential to provide a stabilising influence on prices, reducing price volatility and thereby lowering wholesale gas prices at times of peak demand."
PA
