From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has opened a consultation on electricity storage. The aim of this consultation is to gather the views of all interested parties to inform the development of a new electricity storage policy for Ireland.
Through this consultation, the department is seeking to identify challenges to the effective deployment of electricity storage technologies, and examine the role that various forms of electricity storage can play in supporting the energy transition.
The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future – includes a commitment to strengthen the policy framework to incentivise electricity storage. Building on this, Climate Action Plan 2021 includes a commitment to ‘Develop a storage policy framework that supports the achievement of electricity emissions targets’ (Action 124).
Electricity storage, which refers to a broad array of technologies that capture energy and store it for use when required, will play an essential role in the decarbonisation of the electricity sector.
Among other uses, storage provides specialised services to the electricity grid that allow system operators to maintain a safe and reliable electricity system. These services, known as system or ancillary services, help maintain frequency and voltage on the grid, as the level of renewable electricity on the system increases. Storage can also help to support security of supply, by storing electricity during times of excess supply and releasing it when the grid needs it most, for example if there is a shortfall between supply and demand.
Full details of the consultation can be viewed on the department's website.
The closing date for submissions is 5.30pm on Friday, 27 January 2023.
This work is part of a suite of measures being undertaken by the government to support the delivery of Ireland’s renewable energy targets and Ireland’s security of supply, including the recent consultation on the review of the security of energy supply of Ireland’s electricity and natural gas systems.
ENDS
Electricity storage can play a major role in the decarbonisation of the Irish electricity sector for several reasons, including, among others by:
There will be a need for both short-term and long-term storage, requiring a broad range of technologies across the entire electricity system, if we are to meet our decarbonisation objectives.
The European Commission’s RePower EU plan promotes the development of electricity storage projects as "being in the overriding public interest". Storage technologies are already playing an important role in supporting the electricity system in Ireland. The combined storage capacity currently connected to the grid in Ireland is approximately 792MW. This consists of approximately 500MW lithium-ion batteries, with an average duration of less than one hour, providing system services. In addition, the 292MW pumped storage station at Turlough Hill, Co. Wicklow, provides system services to the grid and helps to balance electricity supply and demand.
As the electricity system evolves, the need to capitalise on other forms of storage, from behind-the-meter and electric vehicle battery storage, to thermal storage and green hydrogen storage, will also become paramount.
The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is currently in the process of developing a policy framework for electricity storage based on electricity system needs.
In addition, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has also committed to reviewing the regulatory treatment of storage including licensing, charging and market incentive by the end of 2023. Work is underway in the Commission for Regulation of Utilities on this review.