Marvel star Mark Ruffalo teams up with climate protesters opposing Shannon LNG terminal for US fracked gas

Marvel star Mark Ruffalo teams up with climate protesters opposing Shannon LNG terminal for US fracked gas

Hollywood actor and anti-fracking advocate Mark Ruffalo has thrown his weight behind the campaign against Shannon LNG.

America’s New Fortress Energy is behind proposals for the onshore liquefied natural gas facility with a deep water jetty, storage tanks and gas-fired power station at Ballylongford, Kerry.

But their plan to bring fracked gas from the US to Ireland has been mired in controversy since the High Court quashed their planning application in 2020.

The state backed away from the plans in its 2020 programme for government but a new application has divided political views since Russia’s war on Ukraine sparked gas supply fears.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said in January a new application would not be blocked if approved by planners and has since met with the firm behind the project, but Environment Minister and Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan, told An Bord Pleanála it shouldn’t be permitted “under any circumstances”.

This week activists from Ireland and the US have been gathering at a week-long climate camp in Kerry to voice their opposition to the plan.

Speaking out in support of the protesters, Hulk star Mark Ruffalo said: “I’m proud to support the Climate Camp in Ireland that is raising awareness about the dangers of the proposed Shannon LNG terminal that would import gas from Pennsylvania and further devastate those communities.”

The actor says he lives near the proposed LNG export terminal along the Delaware River.

“Ireland rightly banned fracking because of the environmental and public health impacts and should reject this terminal for those very same reasons,” he added.

In their application for planning permission, Shannon LNG propose a 600 megawatt gas-fired electricity generator, an LNG terminal and batteries to store up to 120 megawatts of power. The terminal would import natural gas that has been cooled for the purposes of transport. A floating plant will reheat the liquid so that it becomes gas. From there it will be supplied to the power plant and national supply network.

The site notice that Shannon LNG put up says that the terminal will be able to supply up to 22.6 million cubic metres of natural gas per day.

An Bord Pleanála is due to make a decision on the €650m plant in September.