Ireland Zhonghui Energy Storage Project

“A lot of energy storage has crept under the radar so far in Ireland,” he told ESS News. Developers secure planning quite easily but the route to market is a challenge. Energy storage has the opposite problem to the wind industry where planning is an obstacle but the route to market is there.

In 2021 energy experts Baringa estimated that to hit the 80 per cent renewable electricity targets in Ireland and Northern Ireland by 2030 we would need at least 1,700 MW of battery storage on the island of Ireland. Every battery storage project connected makes our electricity grid more secure and helps to integrate wind and solar power.

As part of the energy storage strategy, identify Ireland's competitive advanced capabilities such as our renewable and digital technologies sector and how these can be leveraged to create additional adjacent job opportunities. Promote public and private sector participation in EU and international research and skills development programmes.

Appropriate and timely regulatory and market design is therefore essential to allow the deployment of energy storage in Ireland at the scale required to achieve current environmental policy objectives. However, the current policy framework is unsuitable to deliver the volumes and types of energy storage we will require.

This is the first electricity storage policy published in Ireland. The Irish Government's Climate Action Plan 2021 set out the need for an energy storage policy for Ireland to support 75% reduction in power sector CO2 emissions by 2030.

There are nearly 60 more battery storage projects – 2,500 MW – in development on the island and we are confident of delivering on our 2030 targets. We cannot decarbonise Ireland without first decarbonising our electricity system. And we cannot eliminate carbon from our electricity supply without energy storage.