EM - June/July 2010 - (Page 1)

The newspaper for June/July 2010 www.esb.ie/em CELEBRATING EQUALITY & DIVERSITY: A WEEK OF ACTIVITIES, PAGE 8 DIVERSITY Indian national dancer, Mina Purushothaman, marks the end of a very successful Equality & Diversity Week at a closure event held in ESB Head Of ce Aghada opens New power plant ranks amongst most ef cient in Europe (l-r): Plant Manager Paul Smith, Minister Micheál Martin and ESB Chairman, Lochlann Quinn pictured at the of cial opening of the new station at Aghada in Cork. THE MINISTER for Foreign Affairs, Mr Micheál Martin of cially opened ESB’s 435 new megawatts gas- red station at Aghada, Co Cork, on Monday, May 31st. The station, close to Midleton in East Cork, now has the capacity to generate 963 megawatts of electricity. It is Ireland’s largest power station and ranks among the most ef cient electricity generators in Europe. Eighty people are to be employed in the operation of the station. The new plant cost €360 million to build and provided 550 jobs at the peak of construction. ESB has spent an additional €75 million upgrading the four existing generating units on the site. These have a combined capacity of 528 megawatts. The combined cycle gas turbine generating plant is the lowest electricity emitter of carbon from any conventional power station in Ireland and represents highly ef cient, state-of-the-art technology. It was built by the French engineering company Alstom Power Ltd., and construction began in October 2007. Speaking at the of cial opening event, the Minister for Foreign Affairs said the development is a major economic boost to the area. “The reinvestment in the existing plant at Aghada and the construction of a new adjacent power station guarantees electricity generation and jobs for decades to come in the Cork area. We are also acutely conscious of the challenges facing us in regard to climate change and this power station has been built with clean energy in mind and to the highest environmental standards with minimum emissions”, the Minister said. ESB Chairman, Lochlann Quinn, said the Aghada plant adds signi cantly to Ireland’s security of energy supply while contributing to a cleaner environment. This large scale investment in east Cork is a major boost to the local economy, he added. “This development at Aghada illustrates how ESB really is an innovative and far-seeing energy company. In spite of extremely dif cult economic conditions, the company has proceeded to deliver a plant of this calibre and to press ahead with its overall strategy of providing low-carbon electricity to our customers. We remain completely committed to implementing our ambitious Strategic Framework to 2020,” the Chairman said. ESB Chief Executive, Padraig McManus, said the very high ef ciency rate of the Aghada Power Station means it will remain, not only the foremost generator in Ireland, but also among the best in Europe. “The challenge for all energy market participants is to deliver clean, safe and cost-effective electricity to our customers. The Aghada plant, built by one of the world’s leading engineering companies, does all of this. We now look forward to the opening of competition in all sectors of the electricity industry because value to the customer must lie at the heart of every strand of our business planning. ESB is ready to meet that challenge,” he said. The Vice-President of Alstom Power, Gregor Gnaedig, said that the alliance between his company, as a leader in clean power technologies, and a company like ESB advances pragmatic solutions to climate change while ensuring customers enjoyed reliable and safe supply. “We both operate to ambitiously high standards. Our ability to provide advanced engineering, in tandem with ESB’s determination to help meet Ireland’s climate change targets, means we have delivered a world-standard electricity generator here in Aghada”, Mr Gnaedig said. ■ Sligo Walk 2010 page 31 HEALTH & HABITAT Gold for HALO ENERGY SOLUTIONS page 10 ESB Networks Ltd page 16 Green route In this issue ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02 Energy Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09 Finance & Commercial . . . . . 13 ESB Networks Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ESB Energy International. . . . . 20 Sustainability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Health & Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 ■ Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 issn no. 0790-7508 http://www.esb.ie/em http://www.esb.ie/em

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of EM - June/July 2010

EM - June/July 2010
Contents
News
Energy Solutions
Finance & Commercial
ESB Networks Ltd
ESB Energy International
Sustainability
Health & Habitat
Life

EM - June/July 2010