By Declan Tierney

AN ambitious plan to harness the waters of the River Corrib and satisfy Galway city’s lighting requirements in the future will form part of a project that could provide the county with 8,000 new jobs.

The jobs will be created in several “green energy” projects over the next five years and the generation of electricity on the River Corrib is set to form part of the plan announced earlier this week.

According to the Green Party’s Sen. Niall O Brolchain, the river had the potential to create one or two megawatts of power and this would provide the power to light up Galway city.

The radical plan is likely to involve the provision of a dam on the river along with a electricity generating station – a move which is certain not to find favour with the fisheries interests on the river.

Earlier this week Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) said that it would be embarking on a five-year drive that would deliver billions of euro worth of savings to consumers.

This will involve the generation of electricity though a number of environmentally friendly sources while promoting the reduction of household and business energy bills. And it has been stated that the counties along the west coast will play a strategic part in this plan and will result in the creation of thousands of jobs.

In Galway alone, there are predictions that some 8,000 jobs will be created and this will come as a major boost to a county where there are currently over 23,500 on the dole. Currently the SEAI administers the Home Energy Saving Scheme which provides grants to householders who wish to carry out energy saving improvements.

Sen O Brolcháin said that the River Corrib project could provide Galway city with all of its lighting requirements into the future.

He said that it was the aim of the scheme that the city would be 100% energy sustainable by 2020 and he believed that this could be achievable.

Sen. O Brolchain said overall, the project will create 80,000 jobs nationally with County Galway expected to benefit from 10% of this employment.
 

For more on this story, see Page 3 of the Galway City Tribune.