£80m plant officially announced 11 months after Sentinel reported it

Last September former finance chief at Londonderry Port, Stephen Gillsepie - since departed for a top job at Derry City Council - told the Sentinel about the plans.

He told the paper Evermore Renewables was in the final stages of putting the finances together for the plant.

“It’s very, very close. The planning permission is all done,” he said. “They are just in the final throes of finance. We are hoping that’ll be anytime now.”

Now Evermore has released details of the 15.8MWe (Mega Watts electricity) biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant on the 10 acre Foyle Port site, which will be fuelled by waste wood.

The Evermore project is expected to become operational in Summer 2015, increasing the amount of renewable energy currently generated in Northern Ireland by approximately 10 per cent.

Over the expected 20 year lifetime of the plant, it will achieve a reduction of 1.2 million tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions, and the project will create 200 construction and 18 full time jobs.

Port Chairman Garvan O’Doherty says the location of the plant at the Foyle Port facility “is a major endorsement of our ability to deliver large scale projects for the Region.

“It is also a validation of the Commissioners’ decision, some years ago, to invest heavily in Port fixed assets and broaden our range of activities.”

Evermore directors Ciaran and Stephen Devine, who raised the funding for the project, say it marks a step-change in Northern Ireland’s energy consumption habits.

“This will play a significant role in the strategy to divert waste from landfill and to generate renewable energy,” says Ciaran Devine.

“The plant will be the biggest renewable energy project in existence in Northern Ireland and represents a significant strategic investment for the region.”

Port Chief Executive Brian McGrath said: “Over the last few years the Londonderry Harbour Commissioners have invested over £25 million in the port’s fixed assets and expanded land bank.

“The selection of Foyle Port as the home for this landmark development is further evidence of our strategic importance to the North West’s infrastructure.”