Nuclear energy in the Republic of Ireland

Ireland presently has no nuclear power plants.

However, a nuclear power plant was proposed in 1968, and resulted in the creation of the Nuclear Energy Board. It was to be built during the 1970s at Carnsore Point in County Wexford by the Electricity Supply Board. The plan envisioned four plants to be built at the site, but was dropped in 1981 after strong opposition from environmentalist groups and because of flattening energy demand, and Ireland has remained without nuclear power.^{[citation needed]}

Despite opposing nuclear power and nuclear fuel reprocessing at Sellafield, Ireland is due to open an interconnector to the mainland UK to buy electricity, which is, in some part, the product of nuclear power.

In April 2006, a government-commissioned report by Forfás pointed to the need for Ireland to reconsider nuclear power in order "to secure its long-run energy security". Relatively small-scale nuclear plants were envisaged. In 2007, Ireland's Electricity Supply Board made it known that it would consider a joint venture with a major EU energy company to build nuclear capacity.^[1]

References

1. ^ "Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries". World Nuclear Association. April 2009. http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf102.html. Retrieved 2009-04-22.