ESB seeks buyer for 2 million tonnes of coal ash
Moneypoint in Co Clare
Caroline O'Doherty
October 26 2020
Irish Independent
The ESB is trying to sell two million tonnes of ash from its coal-burning power plant at Moneypoint.
The ash is in landfill on the Co Clare site but the ESB wants to dig it up and sell it for use in cement production.
Otherwise, the power company is looking at lifelong maintenance of the landfill site as coal ash contains chemicals that must be carefully monitored.
ESB has sold fly ash, the powder-fine residue from coal burning, to cement firms in the past; but after 35 years of operation at Moneypoint, a massive excess has built up.
Around 1.8m tonnes of the landfill ash for sale is fly ash while the remaining 200,000 tonnes is 'bottom furnace' ash - larger pieces, not fully burnt.
The company has advertised for expressions of interest in buying the ash, inviting potential buyers to complete a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), and has also put an extraction and haulage contract out to tender in case a buyer is found.
ESB stressed it did not have to remove the ash. "It can be safely retained in landfill," the company said.
"The PQQ is to assess demand in the marketplace for this type of ash. It is used in the cement industry and so it has some commercial value. ESB has received a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the ash - should we wish."
Dr Lisa O'Donoghue of University of Limerick, who investigates uses for industrial waste products, said there was a push for progress in this area as part of the drive for a no-waste 'circular economy'.
Finding uses for waste not only created fresh revenue streams and reduced the demand for virgin raw materials, but it also prevented landfilling, she said.
"The minute something goes into a landfill, it's a job for eternity," Dr O'Donoghue said.
"They're lined and they're protected so they're well managed but they're often called engineered management sites rather than landfill because they can't be left there and abandoned.
"They have to be maintained at an ongoing cost."
Caroline O'Doherty
October 26 2020
Irish Independent
The ESB is trying to sell two million tonnes of ash from its coal-burning power plant at Moneypoint.
The ash is in landfill on the Co Clare site but the ESB wants to dig it up and sell it for use in cement production.
Otherwise, the power company is looking at lifelong maintenance of the landfill site as coal ash contains chemicals that must be carefully monitored.
ESB has sold fly ash, the powder-fine residue from coal burning, to cement firms in the past; but after 35 years of operation at Moneypoint, a massive excess has built up.
Around 1.8m tonnes of the landfill ash for sale is fly ash while the remaining 200,000 tonnes is 'bottom furnace' ash - larger pieces, not fully burnt.
The company has advertised for expressions of interest in buying the ash, inviting potential buyers to complete a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), and has also put an extraction and haulage contract out to tender in case a buyer is found.
ESB stressed it did not have to remove the ash. "It can be safely retained in landfill," the company said.
"The PQQ is to assess demand in the marketplace for this type of ash. It is used in the cement industry and so it has some commercial value. ESB has received a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the ash - should we wish."
Dr Lisa O'Donoghue of University of Limerick, who investigates uses for industrial waste products, said there was a push for progress in this area as part of the drive for a no-waste 'circular economy'.
Finding uses for waste not only created fresh revenue streams and reduced the demand for virgin raw materials, but it also prevented landfilling, she said.
"The minute something goes into a landfill, it's a job for eternity," Dr O'Donoghue said.
"They're lined and they're protected so they're well managed but they're often called engineered management sites rather than landfill because they can't be left there and abandoned.
"They have to be maintained at an ongoing cost."
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