Main Features
The Shannon Estuary runs sixty miles (100 km) from Limerick City to the mouth of the Estuary at the Atlantic Ocean. The Shannon Estuary is sheltered and large (circa 500 km2) with uncongested and deep, navigable water. Annual trade on the Shannon Estuary (mainly consisting of coal, oil, bauxite, chemicals, alumina, fertiliser, timber etc.) is in excess of 10 million tonnes and vessels of up to 200,000 dwt are regularly handled. Statutory jurisdiction over the Shannon Estuary lies with Shannon Foynes Port Company (www.sfpc.ie).
Key Projects
Moneypoint Power Station
The largest electricity generating station in Ireland, owned within the Electricity Supply Board group of companies, was commissioned in 1987 at a cost of €1 billion. Moneypoint is a coal-fired power plant with total output capacity of 915MW, delivered by 3 x 305MW steam-generating boiler plants. (See esb.ie/main/about-esb/moneypoint.jsp)
Tarbert Power Station
Endesa is a leading utility in the Spanish electricity system and the number one private electricity company in Latin America. Endesa Ireland was established in January 2009, following Endesa's acquisition of generation assets from the Irish State utility, Electricity Supply Board (ESB), including Tarbert power station. The Tarbert power station site contains an existing generating station operating on heavy fuel oil (HFO) with a rated output of 590 MW
Aughinish Alumina
Aughinish Alumina is the largest alumina refinery in Europe and the largest of the alumina facilities operated by UC RUSAL. The plant was built between 1978 and 1983 and had an initial rated capacity of 800,000 tonnes a year. It represented an investment of USD 1 billion in the Irish economy. The refinery started processing imported bauxites into alumina in September 1983. (See http://www.rusal.ru/en/aughinish_factory.aspx)