Poolbeg Generating Station 3.14

Poolbeg Generating Station, colloquially known as The Poolbeg Stacks, is a power station owned and operated by the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland . There are two stations on the site, the older thermal station containing units 1, 2, and 3 and the combined cycle gas station containing units CG14, CG15 and ST16, which is located toward the eastern end of the site. The six units have a total installed capacity of 1020 MW.The plant is located on the Poolbeg peninsula in Ringsend, Dublin, on the south bank of Dublin Port. Its two chimneys, at just over 207 metres, are visible over much of Dublin, particularly Sandymount Strand, making them well-known landmarks and some of the tallest structures in Ireland.HistoryPoolbeg is situated adjacent to the now-decommissioned Pigeon House generating station, where electricity was first generated in 1903. The Pigeon House was previously a military barracks and the officers accommodation building still exists. It was used for power generation until it was decommissioned in 1976, and the Poolbeg plant is still known locally as the Pigeon House.The modern Poolbeg station was constructed in two separate phases, beginning in the 1960s. The ESB decided to construct the station in 1965 and the initial development was completed in 1971 with the construction of Units 1 and 2 at a cost of 20 million Irish pounds. The original Pigeon House generators remained on standby duty until 1976. Unit 3 was completed in 1978 at a cost of 40 million pounds.