No Gas Caverns campaigners shed “tears of joy” after the Court of Appeal ruled Edwin Poots acted “irrationally” in approving a major fossil fuel storage project under Larne Lough. Harland & Wolff subsidiary, Islandmagee Energy, wants to hollow out seven 1,350m deep caverns to store gas under the protected lake after pumping thousands of tonnes of hot, salty brine into the sea.
Justice Michael Humphreys dismissed the judicial review at the High Court last August, saying Mr Poots’ decision was ‘lawful’. Northern Ireland’s top judge highlighted the scheme’s potential to lock the country into fossil fuel dependency for the next 40 years and said it had obvious implications for NI’s net-zero climate policy.
Stressing that the court was only dealing with the legality of the decision-making process, Dame Siobhan acknowledged competing interests between economic benefits and those opposed to fossil fuels.“In addition, a highly important issue of energy security requires decisions to be made.” Acting solicitor, Maria O’Loan from leading Belfast law firm Tughans LLP, said: “This is a very important decision, that clarifies the law around decision making in Northern Ireland generally - not just in respect of environmental decisions.