NEWS
IESA and Cenergise Host Energy Experts for 'Storathon'
In October, Eirgrid released their Future Electricity Generation Capacity statement. This statement highlighted concerns regarding Ireland’s generation volumes for the next 10 years. New generation capacity has not been secured, as originally anticipated, due to market failure. This has put Ireland at a high risk of blackouts.
On October 16th, the Irish Energy Storage Association and Cenergise held a Storathon that brought all the top energy industry actors from Markets, developer, research, finance, and community. The 70 delegates were placed into teams to brainstorm and come up with the longer duration energy storage solutions for the Irish market that can be implemented quickly to support the Irish electricity grid during potential blackouts.
Talking about the Storathon, Frank Burke, technical advisor and council member for IESA said “We are looking for new ideas rather than ones which have already been developed and the focus is on longer duration storage as far as possible. This is essential to provide security of supply and prevent blackouts.”
“There needs to be a co-ordinated approach across renewables to ensure we have a mix of renewable technologies and long duration storage to guarantee security of supply,” Chloe Kinsella, MD of energy trading and services company, Cenergise, told the Storathon brainstorming event.
Seven teams participated in the event which included Long Duration Batteries, Pumped Hydro, Green Hydrogen, Thermal and Geothermal, Thermal Demand Flexibility, Community Storage and Flexibility Services. The winning team of the day was Pumped Hydro and their idea was to use a fluid that was 2.5 times denser than water, so that it can be deployed on small hills instead of large ones, to generate the same power. This reduced construction costs and identified more suitable sites in Ireland. The idea was to deploy multiple 40MW High-Density Hydro projects in the North-West of Ireland to store cheap wind energy and unlock more renewable capacity in grid-constrained areas, daisy-chaining projects to maximise storage duration.
Cenergise donated €5,000 to the LauraLynn foundation on behalf of the winning team and the student on the winning team received a laptop.
Ireland’s planning body approves 200MW battery storage project, country’s largest
An Bord Pleanàla has approved a €140 million (US$135.7 million) proposed battery storage facility set to be developed by Strategic Power Projects at Dunnstown, County Kildare.
The project will have a capacity of over 200MW, making it the single largest battery application in Ireland, the company said.
Strategic Power Projects has been developing its renewable and battery pipeline since partnering with investment firm Gresham House in October 2021. Upon signing the partnership, the two firms committed to develop a solar and storage portfolio with a combined capacity of over 1GW.
The proposed facility situated at Dunnstown makes up part of this agreement. Strategic Power said building work will begin as soon as connection to the grid has been achieved.
“Ireland has made enormous strides over recent years in the development of wind and solar energy, but there needs to be similar action taken to ensure that we have enough energy storage capacity to make efficient use of the renewable energy we produce, and to balance the grid as it takes on more and more renewable energy,”
Strategic Power Projects managing director Paul Carson said.
“The Dunnstown facility won’t solve Ireland’s storage problems on its own, but if the positive decision is a sign of things to come, then that is very positive news for the people of Ireland.”
To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.
ENERGY STORAGE A VITAL PART OF ENERGY SECURITY SOLUTION
Successful event “Energy Security needs Energy Storage”
On 30th June, EASE organised the event “Energy Security needs Energy Storage”, bringing together stakeholders from the Commission, the European Parliament and the private sector in a fruitful debate.
See below some quotes from the event.
"The only way out of this crisis is renewables going hand in hand with a massive roll-out of energy storage"
- MEP Claudia Gamon, Renew Europe.
"Renewables with energy storage are a top priority. We need to accelerate the energy transition."
- Mechthild Wörsdörfer, Deputy Director-General DG ENER.
“The industry is ready to deliver and energy storage business cases exist. But we need a clear political message, a clear target for storage and supporting mechanisms.”
- Lars Stephen, Fluence.
"We need to replace coal and gas power plant and prevent costly curtailment of renewable energy. We cannot think of renewables without energy storage"
- Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of Solar Power Europe.
ENERGY STORAGE A VITAL PART OF ENERGY SECURITY SOLUTION
LAUNCH OF “THE MISSING LINK”
“The Missing Link - The value of energy storage in an All-Island market” a study commissioned by the Irish Energy Storage Association (IESA) was launched today by Malcolm Noonan TD, Minister of State for Housing, Local Government and Heritage at the offices of 3cea in the Kilkenny Research and Innovation Centre. The study was carried out on behalf of IESA by AFRY, the Swedish based international engineering and design consultancy.
The President of IESA, Paddy Phelan, said that “The Irish Energy Storage Association is pleased to publish this report by AFRY on the value of energy storage. People know about the need for more wind and solar generation to decarbonise our electricity supply, but many are not aware of the crucial role of energy storage to allow this to happen. Energy storage is vital to provide a low emissions source of firm back-up capacity to ensure security of power supply. It also ensures stability of the grid by being able to inject or absorb hundreds of MW of power in a fraction of a second.”
Minister Noonan welcomed the report and said that its launch was coming at a crucial time for Ireland as we move to rapidly decarbonise our economy, energy and transport systems and how we heat buildings and our homes. “This is a whole of society challenge but also a great opportunity for the country and innovation in the storage of generated renewable energy will add to the robustness of our energy security and independence.”
Key points of the report are that Energy storage is needed to provide power when there is insufficient wind and/or solar power and, equally, absorb power when there is an excess of wind/solar which would otherwise be wasted. Weather conditions across the island of Ireland mean wind output is either very high or very low for about half of the year, with periods of high or low wind lasting a little under 20 hours on average. However, longer duration storage can contribute to solving this problem. For instance, batteries can provide six hours or more of back-up with green hydrogen storage covering days or even weeks. This will provide security of supply while replacing fossil fuel standby plant. Storage will also alleviate grid congestion by using strategically located energy storage plants, allowing additional wind and solar to be connected without having to build new transmission lines.
“The report is timely as the Dept of the Environment and Climate Change is developing its policy on energy storage,” said Frank Burke, Board member of IESA. “The Report shows the need for 1,900MW of additional energy storage which would result in savings of €162m/yr to the electricity system at a cost of €128m/yr leaving a net saving of €34m/yr. Energy storage can reduce the amount of wasted renewable electricity by almost 800GWh annually, enough to power all of the private households in Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Drogheda combined,” he continued.
A key finding is that additional energy storage has the potential to reduce the PSO Levy by €40-60 million annually by 2030. Energy storage can also reduce the amount of renewables capacity needed to meet 2030 targets. Power sector emissions could fall by c.370kt annually in a scenario of 1.9GW of total energy storage by displacing conventional thermal plant. This is almost equivalent to Waterford’s current emissions and saves some €21 million annually in 2030
“This is the way to ensure security of supply in a cost effective environmentally friendly manner. Energy Storage could displace some of the need for inefficient Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT). Currently, because energy needs vary throughout the day, more expensive and less green OCGT Thermal Plants are needed to meet the increase in demand when it is needed. The study finds that batteries could help displace these to a factor of 100MW of storage displacing 80 MW of gas from OCGT Thermal Plants. This is a greener approach, and will also result in substantial savings to the Exchequer, ” concluded Paddy Phelan.
Note: IESA Webinar - “The Missing Link - The value of energy storage in an All-Island market” takes placed on Tues 25 Jan from 2 to 4. Speakers include Darragh Reddin (Dept of Environment, Climate & Communication) and John O’Sullivan (Eirgrid).
Coverage of AFRY Study
We are delighted with the reception of our Energy Storage study so far and are excited to discuss the study further on Tuesday January 25th at our IESA AFRY Study Webinar
Here is some of the coverage we have received to date (click to logo to read):
We want to keep our Members up to-date with all things Energy Storage related.
IESA welcomes the EirGrid and Soni Decision to introduce an additional gate for the procurement of DS3 System Services under the Volume Uncapped arrangements. The TSO’s had consulted on 3 options to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 delays on existing and prospective providers. They consulted on three options and have now decided on the option strongly favoured by IESA. An additional procurement Gate will be conducted in 2021. It will be launched in mid February with a contract execution date of 1 July 2021.
The ability of some new energy storage providers to tender for DS3 System Services under the previously planned timelines were seriously delayed as a result of the COVID-19 related national lockdown last Spring. The introduction of the additional Gate will allow these energy storage providers to tender in July rather than having to wait until the next Gate in October.” See link DS3 System Services Fixed Contracts Recommendation (eirgridgroup.com)
IESA calls for National Green Hydrogen Strategy
The Irish Energy Storage Association (IESA) is calling for the development of a National Green Hydrogen Strategy, and urging the Irish government to initiate the process as a matter of priority by establishing a Task Force for this.
Click here for more details.
The Irish Midlands are seeing the construction of the biggest cluster of batteries in the world.
200MW of Energy Storage.
Energy Storage
Europe’s renewables ambitions ‘not matched by recognition of energy storage’s importance
Energy Storage
Flow batteries paired with tidal energy to produce green hydrogen in Scottish islands project
Industry Consultations
IESA contribution to EU report:
IESA has a representative on the European Network of Energy Storage Associations (ENESA). ENESA meets twice a year in conjunction with the European Association for the Storage of Energy (EASE) which is a European Commission body.
The European Commission has just published a study on the contribution of Energy Storage to the security of supply in Europe.
IESA has recently sent responses to the following consultations:
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“Smarter HV & MV Customer Connections - New Approaches to Distribution Planning & Security of Supply Standards”
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Initial Consultation on NECP
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Commission Study on Energy Storage
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Essential Role of Energy Storage in Decarbonising Energy
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Enduring Connection Policy Stage 2 (ECP-2) Proposed Decision
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Double Charging of Energy Storage Import and Export Capacities
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Essential Role of Energy Storage. Innovation for the Network of the Future
Just Transition Report
The Irish Energy Storage Association (IESA) welcomes the publication of the ‘Just Transition Report’. The closure of Lough Ree and West Offaly power plants is driven by Climate Action as is the work of IESA. We particularly welcome two key recommendations...
Energy Storage around the globe
IESA calls for changes to capacity market to encourage cleaner technologies, such as energy storage, with low missions
Governements draft on Energy Storage
In Sept 2019 the Irish Energy Storage Association was asked to contribute to a special issue of ETN (Emerging Technology News) on the Global Scenario regarding Energy Storage & Renewable Energy, to coincide with World Energy Storage Day and REI 2019. In addition to Ireland, the other contributors were China, Africa, USA, Australia, Japan and India.
ETN is published by the India Energy Storage Alliance. It interacts with industry stakeholders both in India and around the world as a dedicated news provider to the renewable and Energy Storage sectors.
The Irish Energy Storage Association is calling for amendments to the ISEM Capacity Market auctions, similar to those introduced in France and GB. France recently launched its first ever Capacity Market auction with a low emissions requirement thereby facilitating the decarbonisation of electricity. Storage featured significantly in the auction with contracts of over 250MW awarded. The GB market has followed suit and has made changes to its market – changes that are designed to remove barriers for low emissions plant and make it easier for cleaner technologies such as batteries to compete in capacity auctions.
The ISEM Capacity Market needs to reflect Ireland’s challenging 2030 and 2050 emission reduction targets. In particular IESA is calling for emission limits to apply to all future capacity auctions, thereby incentivising the replacement of the highest carbon emitting plants with cleaner technologies.
IESA welcomes the recognition in the Programme for Government of the critical role that energy will play in the decarbonisation of the Electricity sector.
Specifically IESA welcomes the commitments to:
- Strengthen the policy framework to incentivise electricity storage and interconnection.
- Continue Eirgrid’s programme “Delivering a Secure, Sustainable Electricity System” (DS3).
- Support the clustering of regional and sectoral centres of excellence in the development of low carbon technologies, and
- Invest in research and development in “green” hydrogen (generated using excess renewable energy) as a fuel for power generation, manufacturing, energy storage and transport.
IESA looks forward to working with the new Department of Energy and all energy players in implementing the storage elements of this Programme.
Review of ECP-2 Decision June 2020
The CRU has published its decision paper on ECP-2.
https://www.cru.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CRU20060-ECP-2-Decision.pdf
The highlights are as follows:
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Target 115 connection offers in total for each ECP-2 batch period:
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85 for generation, storage and other system services technology projects (MEC>500kW).
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15 for non-batch projects and 15 for community-led projects, that cannot be processed on a non-batch basis
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Prioritised by largest renewable energy generation (first 25 offers), then by planning permission grant date.
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No more than 10 primarily storage and other system service technology projects
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ECP-2 framework to encompass one batch application window per year for three years:
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ECP-2.1 applications in September 2020
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ECP-2.2 applications in September 2021
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ECP-2.3 applications in September 2022
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Batch formation October – December, batch processing January - December of the following year
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Further opportunities for projects which are not going ahead to hand back their connection offer
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Whilst ECP-2 offers will initially be issued on a non-firm basis as per ECP-1, contracted projects will receive scheduled Firm Access Quantities.
Network charging for commercial storage units
The CRU has published a Consultation Paper on Network Charging for Commercial Storage Units; see link below. The Consultation Paper proposes that an interim solution be implemented in Oct 2020 pending a more enduring solution.
For the past 18 months the Irish Energy Storage Association (IESA) has been arguing with both the CRU and in Brussels for a change in the wires' double-charging regime, whereby storage units were required to pay wires charges on both imports and exports. In contrast Demand sites, Generator sites and Autogenerator sites are required to pay only on imports or exports. The double-charging placed storage sites at a significant disadvantage relative to other sites.
The Consultation states "It is therefore the CRU’s proposal to apply D-TUoS and cease charging G-TUoS to commercial storage providers as an interim approach to network charges for storage". This proposed change will have the effect of reducing the wires charges by approx 60% on, for example, a 50 MW transmission-connected storage unit with a max charging rate of 15%.
IESA welcomes this consultation document and the proposal that the new arrangements will apply from next October.
The three documents in the Consultation are listed below:
https://www.cru.ie/document_group/network-charging-for-commercial-storage-units/