Buncrana/Ballynahone, Future Energy iron-air battery project

10-10-20

A community in Inishowen, Co Donegal, living near the proposed site of the first iron-air battery storage project in Europe say they are strongly opposed to the development.

More than 150 people attended a public meeting in Buncrana last night where plans for the proposed energy project were discussed in detail.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/1017/1475916-inishowen-opposition/

It's sad to see the level of distrust in projects which involve semi-states these days, seemingly every old trope is being used against new technology such as battery developments which will benefit the region. It was the same with 5G masts for a time. Maybe it's a situation here where the community is already reeling from the effects of the mica crisis and maybe they have an inherent mistrust of the decisions 'from Dublin', but labeling this as untested is far-fetched. These aren't lithium-ion batteries for crying out loud…

Is it just the wrong community to be working with due to their galvanised and sensitive state?

Opinions?

NIMAN

As someone who lives relatively close to the area, I would have no qualms about such a facility being built near me.

To be honest, don't know much about it, but can't see what the concerns are based on. Perhaps someone could enlighten us as to the possible dangers, if they exist?

With tech like this, I often feel misinformation and lies on the Internet can affect people's beliefs very easily. All it takes is one person to say "it'll give you cancer", and that's it as fact among many people.

thatsdaft

What actual tangible benefits this brings to community and will there be a fund setup upfront to decommission what literally is several tons of rust when the operator eventually makes its profit and buggers off

NIMAN

The operator won't just bugger off.

Batteries on that scale would be very valuable. They won't just be abandoned.

L1011

Donegal seems to have a bit of a thing with protesting against anything new, I remember the anti MMDS protests that were 50% wanting to retain the unlicenced 'deflector' retransmission stations and 50% lunatic cranks ~25-30 years ago; and there's plenty of anti 5G, anti wind turbine, anti everything stuff still around

thatsdaft

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122728589#Comment_122728589

Then it shouldn’t be any issues to setup a decommissioning fund upfront and do something quantifiable that actually benefits the locals who are not some sort of yokels they are being painted as, such as local jobs at facility and cheaper electricity prices in locality

timmyntc

The actual planning application is quite sketchy, they also have stated they are initially applying for something relatively small with full intention of scaling up massively on same area afterwards, as they believe it will be easier to get planning for big after they have secured for smaller footprint first.

Also they are intending to source water from local group water schemes (wells), and the site drains directly into SAC.

They also refer to use of mains sewage iirc which does not exist anywhere in that region.

plodder

Found a page with some information and a graphic. Up to 248 shipping containers on the site. Though I guess they would be starting small as a way of testing the technology. From what I can see the main problems with it, are the low efficiency (50%) and more seriously, its long term performance in terms of charging cycles.

You would hope that whatever doubts there are about that would need to be resolved before the project goes large scale.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/09/27/ireland-in-line-for-1-gwh-iron-air-battery-storage-project/

thatsdaft

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122728975#Comment_122728975

Where exactly is the site?

I am now curious as to the state of roads leading to it that will have to receive ultra heavy containers full of literally heavy iron dust

And who will pay for maintenance of this infrastructure

plodder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122728992#Comment_122728992

No idea. Interestingly, the photo on that page shows something like 1600 units. So, I presume the inital application must be for 248 of them (if that photo is accurate).

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122728992#Comment_122728992

It's here alongside this sub-station:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jUHWSbemi9BikmqR7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122728975#Comment_122728975

Where do you see 50% efficiency? I'm curious about that.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122728551#Comment_122728551

Concerns around the local benefit to the community I get. But these batteries won't be left to rust (pun intended) at the end of their useful life, this isn't a hulking great power station that is too large to be decommissioned - The batteries are certainly going to be monitored and managed and will most likely be individually swapped out on an ongoing basis once they reach a profit over efficiency inflection point on a spreadsheet.

plodder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122729687#Comment_122729687

Where do you see 50% efficiency? I'm curious about that.

Well apparently the problem has been solved. It (and the solution) is mentioned in this article.

https://newatlas.com/iron-air-battery/23646/?itm_source=newatlas&itm_medium=article-body

To be honest, I hadn't heard of the technology until today. It's pretty amazing to think you can create electricity by oxidising iron to make rust, and you can convert the rust back to iron again by inputting electricity.

silliussoddius

Some of the fears highlighted at last night’s meeting about the proposed project around 4km outside Buncrana, included environmental factors, health and safety concerns and the long-term performance of the project.

The long term aspect is what would concern me, I'm very skeptical of any company that says they can improve on energy efficiency.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122730222#Comment_122730222

Why would the long term performance of the project be of concern to the locals? If it doesn't make money for the developer then that's the developers issue.

If they are afraid that it will go bust and be just left to rot then a bond should de insisted on.

What this actually looks like is a community that is distrustful of this development and doesn't see any community benefit to hosting it. If the developer creates a community fund I bet the objections will melt away.

Apart from the cranks. They can't be bought.

10-10-20

It's an energy storage technology that isn't going away, will become more critical over time, will likely increase energy storage density over time, and very much helps any households with solar as it creates a potential destination for that energy in times of excess. I hate to say that many of the arguments against it are unfounded and not based in reality.