Given the potentially serious impact on the environment of the proposed open cast mine, and the burning of lignite, WWF is urging local people, politicians and planners to carefully examine the implications of allowing such a project to go ahead.

Ballymoney Power - owned by AuIron, an Australian mining corporation - has also made startling claims in submissons to the Enterprise Trade and Investment Committee. In their submissions, Ballymoney Power described the lignite at Ballymoney as "environmentally friendly." Yet, lignite is one of the most inefficient fossil fuels available and has higher carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than coal, oil or gas. Despite this, Ballymoney Power also claim that the power station will have lower CO2 emissions than the older existing Northern Ireland stations.

Malachy Campbell, Policy Officer for WWF Northern Ireland commented on the announcement saying, "With the huge potential in Northern Ireland for energy from renewable sources such as wind, there is no need for such a potentially environmentally damaging development to come to fruition."

In their submissions to the ETI committee AuIron/Ballymoney Power also stated that:
"Renewable energy can never meet a large percentage of Northern Ireland's electricity demands".

This statement was made after the publication of the "Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Resources in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland," conducted by the Department of Public Enterprise in the Republic of Ireland and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland, which outlines how 182 per cent of predicted consumption could be supplied by offshore wind alone.

"The introduction of a base load power station fuelled by indigenous lignite will 'improve the current energy market' by helping to reduce consumer costs."

However, the "Future Options for All-Island Energy Markets" report, published by IPA Energy Consulting, states clearly that:
"Of Ireland's indigenous sources of energy, only gas is economically competitive."

"Particulate (i.e. dust) emissions are controllable...."

This statement was made without any explanation of how the plumes of dust which are likely to be produced by open cast mining on such a huge scale would be controlled and what impact such dust would have.