County: Kerry
Fuel type: Sod peat
Capacity: 5MW
Status: Inactive
Commissioned: 1957
Decommissioned: 2003
On 22nd October, 1957, the Cahirciveen power station was brought into operation in Co. Kerry. After the end of World War II, the Irish Government committed to an extensive programme of bog development to be overseen by Bord na Móna. Four identical 5MW turf burning stations were built at Gweedore, Screebe, Miltown Malbay and Cahirciveen, at a cost of £500,000 each.
ESB also built seven other peat stations in the 1950s and 1960s, including Allenwood, Bellacorick, Ferbane, Lanesborough, Portarlington, Shannonbridge and Rhode.
Cahirciveen station employed 20 staff from the surrounding area, and was designed to burn 30,000 tonnes of locally produced turf annually. In 1990, a record 24,147 tonnes of turf was consumed producing a record 18,184,000 kilowatt-hours. Cahirciveen power station closed in 2003.
For more information about Generating Station, see the documents below:
Cahirciveen PR Pamphlet, 1980s
Caherciveen Power Station from the book “A Heritage Inventory of ESB Buildings in Ireland”
