Green Limerick: New Limerick hydrokinetic turbines set to come on stream

PLANNING permission has been granted to local clean energy developer GKinetic to deploy three hydrokinetic turbines just upstream of Thomond Weir in Limerick city.

Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) granted the company permission to develop the hydrokinetic turbines.

The aim of the project is to generate clean energy from the River Shannon which can be used by a local renewable energy community (REC) and contribute towards a positive energy block as part of the +CityxChange project.

The planning journey has involved a lot of engagement with local community groups and other users of the river including boat clubs, rowing clubs, ‘The Limerick Swim’ organisers as well as search and rescue and fire services and groups (to name a few).
CEO of GKinetic, Vincent Mc Cormack commented: “The grant of planning is a huge milestone and is testament to the forward-thinking attitude of our great city that truly supports innovation in the ways that matter the most.

“We are very thankful to all of the local Limerick groups and stakeholders that engaged with us, shared their concerns and feedback and ultimately improved the project.

“We thank the Limerick people and the Council for their confidence and look forward to continuing working with everyone for the next exciting phase”.

LCCC will host an event on Wednesday, March 8 to discuss the opportunity and next steps.

Anyone interested in setting up and being part of a Renewable Energy Community (REC) that could own and operate the generators is welcome to attend.

The planning process involved a large body of environmental research on both the device and the site and underlines the innocuous nature of the installation.

Ensuring no negative impacts on the natural wildlife and environment is, and continues to be, of paramount importance.
A six-month demonstration of one of the devices funded by CityxChange was completed in 2022 in an effort to accelerate the planning and regulatory processes in Limerick.

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Results and data from this deployment proved very beneficial and helped to address many of the environmental and safety concerns that cropped up during the planning process.

The turbine's unique design, similar to a small boat being deployed on an anchor or mooring, means they can be easily moved, stopped by remote control connectivity and pose no harm to the environment based on all completed studies to date.