Cantillon: Mesquite has powerful effect on Taoiseach

If anyone notices something unusual in the Mayo air, it could be the scent of burning mesquite, which is more associated with Mexico and the southwestern US than with Killala.

The tree, whose arid habitat is the opposite of west Ireland’s climate, features on the list of fuels that a new combined-heat-and-power plant at Killala will burn to generate electricity.

It seems self-defeating that an electricity plant to supposedly cut greenhouse gas emissions will ship fuel from the US. Although, its equity backer, Weichert Enterprise, say supplies will be sourced here.

An even more important question is whether we need this plant at all. Natural gas-fired generators are cheaper to build – a 400 mega watt (MW) facility can be had for around €400 million – compared to the €180 million required to build something with a 42.5 MW capacity. The fuel is cheap and there is more than a decade’s supply of the stuff sitting off Mayo.

The Killala plant will benefit from the State scheme guaranteeing a minimum price for its electricity . Consumers and businesses pay for this through the €205 million public service obligation.

That charge goes up as the wholesale price of electricity falls and as more renewable generating capacity hooks up to the national grid. As gas prices have fallen sharply over the last nine months, that charge will increase again. The system essentially forces consumers to subvent Killala and other such projects.

This is while they are paying more for energy than most of the rest of the EU, punishing families and hitting competitiveness. These facts were conveniently forgotten when Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced details of the Killala project last weekend.

The fact he is cutting ribbons on projects in his backyard indicates that, whatever about the scent of mesquite, there is certainly an election in the air. You can expect lots of real issues to be conveniently forgotten over the coming months.