From:Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment

Minister for Climate, Energy, and the Environment Darragh O’Brien today highlighted the tremendous progress that has been made in the integration of electricity storage systems to Ireland’s electricity grid.

These storage systems play a key role in providing flexibility, reducing ‘dispatch down’ of renewables (i.e. times when renewable electricity cannot be used) and moving surplus renewable electricity to times of higher demand, which places downward pressure on costs. This, in turn, will ultimately contribute to an affordable energy future – for generations to come.

Speaking at today’s Energy Storage Ireland conference in Dublin, the Minister underlined the important work of industry and Electricity Storage Ireland in delivering and connecting 800 MW (megawatts) of grid-scale (utility-scale) storage to the electricity grid in recent years (since 2018).

The Minister also noted the publication of a report today by Energy Storage Ireland – titled ‘Money Saver: How Storage Lowers Energy Costs’. Conference delegates and attendees heard that the report, prepared by international energy consultancy AFRY, asserts that storage could deliver “over €102 million in annual savings for consumers, while reducing emissions and making better use of Ireland's renewable energy resources”.

The Minister reiterated the Government’s commitment to electricity storage and outlined actions (for key Government Departments, bodies and stakeholders) to support the continued delivery of electricity storage.

The Department will set out a glide path for electricity storage out to 2040. This glide path is focused on delivering a long-term target for electricity storage and the revenue certainty to deliver that target – via a strong electricity storage pipeline.

Commenting, Minister O’Brien said:

“Throughout 2024, 2025 and 2026, reviews by all the key stakeholders of both the regulatory and market frameworks have delivered multiple positive impacts on the electricity storage landscape.

“Since full access was granted to the electricity markets last November, electricity storage has already set new peak output records of almost 500 MW. This peak delivery is comparable to that of a large gas power station and has contributed to an estimated reduction in renewable dispatch down of up to 7%.

“The recent decision by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities [CRU] on storage tariffs is expected to promote increased storage participation in the electricity markets, driving down consumer costs.”

“I am delighted to see that there is another 2.3 GW (Giga Watts) of storage with planning permission and connection contracts in the pipeline. I fully support this strong pipeline – to deliver cleaner, more affordable, electricity for Irish consumers.”

The Minister reiterated his firm belief that the work being carried out by industry, Government and key stakeholders will deliver the electricity storage systems needed to support Ireland’s energy transition, in a timely and cost-effective manner.