Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 5 Feb 2002

Vol. 547 No. 3

Written Answers. - Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

Dick Spring

Question:

272 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions which would result from the proposed ban in the importation and sale of bituminous coal; the measure he intends taking in relation to emissions in power generation, which contributes in greater measures to sulphur dioxide pollution. [3297/02]

Minister of State at the Department of Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace)

With regard to the reduction in sulphur dioxide, SO2, emissions resulting from a potential ban on bituminous coal and petcoke, I refer to the reply to Question No. 706 of 30 January 2002.

With regard to emissions from power generation, a number of measures have been, or will be, introduced to reduce SO2 emissions from this sector. These include the extension of the EPA's integrated pollution control licensing system – completed in January 2002 – to existing electricity generating stations; the mandatory reduction of sulphur in heavy fuel oil, including that used in power generation, to 1% from 1 January 2003 under the Air Pollution Act 1987 (Sulphur Content of Heavy Fuel Oil) Regulations, 2001. HFO in the range 1% to 3% sulphur is in use in power generation currently pursuant to a voluntary agreement with the ESB to limit total sulphur emissions to 82,000 tonnes by 2000.

EU Directive 2001/80/EC on the limitation of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants – to be transposed into Irish law by 27 November 2002 – will regulate, for the first time, emissions of SO2 from pre-1987 large combustion plants as well as new gas turbines, will further reduce permitted emissions from new plants and require an assessment of the combined heat and power possibilities for new plants. The directive also provides discretionary options limiting the operational lifetime or requiring the implementation of national emission reduction plans for existing plants not meeting specified standards.

All options will be considered in the context of the national emissions reduction strategy being developed to comply with Directive 2001/81/EC on national emissions ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants and the 1999 UNECE Gothenburg protocol to the convention on long range transboundary air pollution to abate acidification eutrophication and ground level ozone. Both of these require national emissions of SO2 to be reduced by 76% below 1990 levels by 2010.

In addition, the national climate change strategy, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library, contains a number of cross-cutting measures which will further facilitate a reduction in SO2 emissions from the power generation sector including in regard to the ESB Moneypoint plant, the single largest SO2 point source in the State, the use of cleaner fuels in, and improving the efficiency of, electricity generation.