Troubled Dublin-based green energy company Gaelectric has pulled the plug on its ambitious plans for a compressed air energy storage project in Northern Ireland.

The company has withdrawn its planning application for the 330MW scheme, earmarked for a site on Islandmagee near Larne in Co Antrim.

The proposals would have involved storing compressed air in salt caverns under the Antrim coast. The venture had a price tag of £300 million and had received several substantial EU grants.