A decision on planning permission for the controversial Dunstown gas-fired power plant has been deferred for at least two months, for Kildare County Council to get further information.
Councillors have asked for more information about the 400 megawatt gas-fired plant which will cost £190 million if it goes ahead. The councillors had been due to give their final decision this week.
Their main concern is about the scale of the proposed plant, which would include a 50-metre chimney stack. Councillors say the plan provides little leeway for reducing the scale of the development and want further details about how this could be achieved.
The councillors also want information about property values in the surrounding area, which they say have not been quantified by the developers.
Kildare County Council has asked Kildare Energy Ltd, which includes Bord na Mona, to submit the information.
A spokesman for the council said that once the company had provided the information it would then take two months from that date for the council to make its decision.
The responsibility for granting or refusing planning permission for the project lies with the county manager. If a material contravention of the Kildare County Development Plan is required, then a two-thirds majority of councillors will be needed to vote in favour of the plant.
It is likely that, whatever the county council's decision, it will be appealed to An Bord Pleanala. There has been strong opposition from local residents to the plant. In the meantime, the company is circulating leaflets to households in the area, answering questions about the plant and its proposed operation.