1.3 GW of RE To Be Added In Ireland Post Round 4 of RESS

Ireland Hopes for 1334 MW Of RE Additions After Round 4 of Capacity Auctions

By Saur News Bureau/ Updated On Thu, Sep 12th, 2024

Provisional results from the fourth round of the Irish Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS 4) confirm 1,334 MW of renewable energy bids that meet criteria. Of this, 960MW is solar PV and 374MW onshore wind. The average auction price has come in at €96.85 (£81.73) per MWh, with the generation-weighted average price for solar projects at €104.76 per MWh. Ireland has been blessed with a particularly windy coast that makes wind energy a strong bet for the country’s energy needs.

The proposed projects would add over 20% to Ireland’s renewable energy capacity. However, while being a significant improvement over the previous auction, the fourth round of the RESS was still below potential, considering the original procurement target of 2,500GWh to 4,500GWh that was reduced to 1,300GWh to 2,500GWh just before the auction.

Key Winners

French IPP Neoen was a key beneficiary from the latest round of auctions, bagging rights to 170MWp of solar projects in the auction. Nooen won its bids for Johnstown North Solar (29MWp, in County Wicklow) and Garr Solar (141MWp, in County Offaly).

With an existing portfolio of over 100 MW, included 58MWp of solar plants in operation, the French firm could be at 270 MW by 2028.

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For Ireland, adding renewable energy to the grid has been mired in the issues linked to costs, until now, leaving the country lagging behind many other European countries, despite good conditions for wind, in particular.

In the previous (third) round of the RESS auction, wind and solar volumes represented just a 12% increase on Ireland’s existing renewable capacity at the time. Although 3GW of projects were eligible to compete, only 1GW applied to the auction.