From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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Renewable energy projects will help to protect Irish households and businesses from high fossil fuel prices and increase energy security.
The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, today announced the provisional results of the third Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auction.
RESS 3 builds on the successes of the first two onshore auctions. The volumes procured represent a 12% increase on current renewables, keeping Ireland on the right trajectory to achieve the targets set out in Climate Action Plan 2023.
Climate Action Plan commits to increasing the share of electricity demand generated from renewable sources in Ireland to 80% and reaching 8GW of solar, 9GW of onshore wind and 5GW of offshore wind by 2030. This also underpins Ireland’s contribution towards an EU-wide 2030 renewable energy target and to Ireland’s own target of a 51% reduction in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and related carbon budgets.
A major expansion of solar energy, in particular, will bring further economic benefits and employment for years to come. Solar energy is dependable and predictable and will play an increasing part in the generation mix out to 2030 and beyond.
As with the previous schemes, RESS 3 includes mandatory community benefit funds for all projects. The community benefit fund under RESS 3 will deliver approximately €2 million each year to sustainable initiatives within communities living in close proximity to the projects.
Minister Ryan said:
"I am pleased to welcome the provisional results of the third onshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auction. The auction design was intended to maximise the volume of renewables connecting to the electricity grid, whilst shielding consumers from high prices is critical as we move towards 2030.
"While this is lower volumes than previous auction rounds, RESS 3 targeted mature, shovel-ready projects that all have planning permissions and grid connection offers and are expected to deliver rapidly, by early 2027 at the latest.
"A fourth, and larger, RESS auction in due to take place in 2024. Against a backdrop of interest rate hikes and increased construction costs, prices in RESS 3 have remained relatively consistent with the last auction (RESS 2), largely due to changes in the auction design, which were intended to minimise any potential increase in prices.
"The auction results will help bolster energy security and system resilience, contribute to emissions reduction over the second carbon budget period, and continue a steady rollout of renewable energy projects to support our EU renewable targets in 2027 and 2030."
Key aspects of the results:
In conclusion Minister Ryan said:
"We must continue to strive to meet our climate targets and to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and deliver benefits to communities across the country. RESS 3 builds on the successes of previous auctions and further diversifies our energy supply with increases in grid-scale solar. RESS 3 makes an important contribution to Ireland’s renewable energy targets and the design changes implemented have proven successful in ensuring consumers continue to benefit from the low cost of renewables."
The provisional results of the RESS 3 auction can be viewed on the EirGrid Group website.
The frequency of future RESS auctions is dependent on the renewable electricity project supply pipeline, along with evolving market, locational and technological considerations.
RESS 3 is the third of a minimum of five envisaged onshore auctions to occur between 2020 and 2025 to deliver on 2030 targets. These auctions will provide pathways for renewable developers, including solar and onshore wind projects through dedicated offshore auctions, to plan and develop their projects. It will also allow Ireland to take advantage of new technologies as they emerge.
An updated roadmap of future auctions, setting out the indicative timelines and volumes for auctions over the coming decade (providing clarity for developers in relation to when they need to have their projects 'auction ready'), was published in December 2022, with another update expected to be published later this year.