Press Release Issued on 3/11/26 from Stop Shannon LNG Coalition / Futureproof Clare
Shocking Footage of Irish Gas Infrastructure
The Stop Shannon LNG Coalition in collaboration with Texas-based oil and gas industry watchdog, Oilfield Witness, have released shocking footage of emissions from Irish gas plants including at Pure data centre, Ballycoolin in Dublin 15, at Tynagh power station in Co. Galway and Huntstown gas power station, in Finglas, Dublin 11.
The footage was captured by Sharon Wilson, Executive Director of Oilfield Witness who visited Ireland as part of the Stop Shannon LNG campaign to ban Liquified Natural Gas terminals in Ireland. Ms Wilson is a certified Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) thermographer who has spent over a decade travelling to oil and gas infrastructure “making the invisible visible”. The Stop Shannon LNG coalition says that the OGI footage is more evidence proving that there are harmful emissions from gas. They argue that Gas Networks Ireland public advertisements about gas are “misleading” because they frequently portray the fuel as “renewable” and “sustainable”.
“Methane emissions cannot be seen with the naked eye,“ said Sam Moran of the Stop Shannon LNG Coalition. “In fact, gas is often touted as a transition fuel because it has less carbon emissions than oil or coal. However, gas releases methane which traps 80 times more heat than carbon over a 20 year period, and is responsible for around 30% of all global greenhouse gas emissions.” continued Mr. Moran.
“Like gas power plants across the world, the Irish power plants I saw on this trip are major emitters of climate pollutants like methane and health impacting VOCs like benzene. Calling methane gas clean, renewable or sustainable is propaganda. Clean gas is a scam that the industry only gets away with because without technology like mine, the pollution is invisible. Investing in new gas imports will tie Ireland to a dirty and expensive industry for decades.” said Sharon Wilson, Executive Director of Oilfield Witness
Colm Shaughnessy, a local resident living beside the circa 400 MW Tynagh gas station, viewed the facility through the OGI camera. ‘I just saw through the camera that there is a lot of pollutants coming out that you can’t see without the camera’ he said. He went on to say ‘There has been a lot of cancer around the area, it’s been ongoing for a while, if that’s anything to do with it, I couldn’t tell you’.
“It is disgraceful that Gas Networks Ireland, a semi-state body are paying millions for advertising renewable gas, because the vast majority of gas used in this country is not renewable – it is really bad for climate change, and for public health, said Sinéad Sheehan, Futureproof Clare, which is a member of the Stop Shannon LNG coalition. “The greenwashing around data centres and the use of gas has to be called out. It’s beyond belief that RTE and Gas Networks Ireland are allowed to advertise gas as a sustainable energy resource. The fracked gas that would be imported by the proposed LNG terminal in Clare is even dirtier than coal! You can’t see the smoke like you can with oil or coal, but while methane is even more poisonous, it’s invisible unless you have an OGI camera like Sharon’s”.
“This footage shows clearly how mad Ireland would be to import more gas than it already does,” said Sinéad Sheehan. “If the gas import terminal goes ahead in Co. Clare, the data centres will be able to build their own gas power plants like the ones we saw near Blanchardstown at Huntstown, at the data centre and in Co. Galway. I have read reports that say gas plants like these are linked with cancer, respiratory issues, miscarriage and child health impacts. People need to be told about this issue” said Sinéad Sheehan.
“I went to Huntstown gas power plant in Co. Dublin with Sharon,” said Sinéad Sheehan. “When I was able to see through Sharon’s OGI camera what was really coming out of the stacks, the first thing that occurred to me was how bad this must be for the health of people living nearby. Then I started to think about how many new gas plants would be built if Ireland starts to import fracked gas from America – as per the current plan in Co. Clare. There is a huge 120 MW gas power plant with 18 stacks planned as part of the Ennis data centre. Where will Ennis data center get the gas from? It has to come from the LNG terminal the government has planned. It would have meaningful impact on climate and on health if we could ban LNG terminals in Ireland – it really is time to make this stance.”
Sinéad Sheehan continued: “It is maddening that a gas powered data centre is trying to make itself look good by donating to a children’s cancer charity. The extraction of fossil gas is associated with cancers, miscarriage and other health effects on children, so the industry should not be seen as some kind of heroes who help sick children. It’s hard to tell, but the gas used in Pure data centre might even have made children sick”.
NOTES:
Stop Shannon LNG Youtube video: Methane Hunting in Ireland with Sharon Wilson: https://youtu.be/1NkzNN6vLIk
Oilfield Witness videos of Gas Infrastructure in Ireland
Tynagh https://youtu.be/0aBdA78mjkA?
Huntstown https://youtu.be/C5DbII_JobU?
Pure Data Center https://youtu.be/3-Zf7uyzuTU?
For Pure Data Centre Dublin website showing links to sponsorship deals with children’s cancer charity, local soccer club and MSc students from Trinity College Dublin sustainability placement scheme see: https://puredc.com/dublin
For a satellite image of Huntstown power station. Source: https://www.gem.wiki/
For a googlemaps aerial image of Tynagh Gas Station. see: https://www.gem.wiki/Tynagh_