Larne Lough gas caverns judicial review opens in Belfast

Campaigners against the plan gathered outside the High Court in Belfast on Tuesday

Campaigners against a plan to construct gas caverns under Larne Lough are at the High Court in Belfast for a judicial review.

Seven gas caverns are set to be constructed by carving out salt layers under the lough to store half a billion cubic metres of natural gas.

A marine licence for the construction plan was approved by Stormont's environment department in 2021.

The High Court review hearing began on Tuesday and is due to last four days.

Campaigners say the plan threatens wildlife and creates dependency on fossil fuel at a time when Northern Ireland has a legally-binding target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The judicial review has been taken by opposition groups the No Gas Caverns campaign and Friends of the Earth NI.

Islandmagee Energy, the firm behind the project, has previously said there will be no long-term damage to wildlife.

It also said that any impact created by the discharge of brine - very salty water - would be confined to a small area at an approved distance offshore, away from Larne Lough.

In the High Court the judge described the case as "complex and fact-heavy".

The project would see caverns hollowed out under Larne Lough

The campaigners' barrister said licensing the plan was a significant, controversial and cross-cutting decision that should have required referral to the Stormont executive, not approval from a single minister.

He said the campaigners feared the effect of very salty water on priority species off the coast of Islandmagee.

He also said there was concern that the 40-year lifespan of the project could "lock" Northern Ireland into natural gas - a fossil fuel - well into the 2070s and much later than the 2050 net-zero requirement.

The caverns would hold up to 500 million cubic metres of gas, creating a 14-day energy supply in the event of disruption and representing more than a quarter of the UK's storage capacity.

Northern Ireland imports all its fossil fuels, including for generating energy and the Climate Change Committee has said "appropriate storage" is needed to reach net zero.

Longer term, there are plans to use the caverns to store green hydrogen from excess wind power generation instead of natural gas.

Harland and Wolff, Islandmagee Energy's parent company, has previously said that the storage of gas in Northern Ireland "is more important now than ever".

It said that the project would add about £400m into the wider economy.

Submissions on behalf of the campaigners are continuing.