When the frequency of Ireland’s electricity grid dropped below normal operating range in May, two large-scale battery storage projects stepped in to help within 180 milliseconds, injecting power to help support and stabilise the network.
Experts Frank Burke from the Irish Energy Storage Association and Bernice Doyle of Statkraft Ireland talk about the growing need for energy storage, how the market has rapidly developed so far and what it needs to look like to achieve a stable, decarbonised and secure energy system on the island of Ireland.
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, one of two stock exchange-listed investment funds in the UK dedicated to energy storage, is proposing a new issue of ordinary shares at 102 pence (US$1.41) per share to raise further capital for its development pipeline of 1.3GW.
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, a publicly listed energy storage investment funds in the UK, is entering its portfolio into the Dynamic Containment grid services market while it has 100MW of projects in Northern Ireland nearing completion.
With the current tariff framework for energy storage in Ireland set to come to an end in April 2023, there is scepticism over the support that will follow.
Bigger projects, increased synergy with renewable energy generation, better evolved business models and a forward-thinking market design have contributed to the success of battery storage in the UK, with neighbouring Ireland also showing strong signs of rapid growth.
Ireland’s first grid-scale battery system was commissioned at the beginning of 2020 but was followed just a few months later by another one 10 times larger. The opportunities for further development in the country appear huge, with a grid operator willing to recognise the role energy storage can play in balancing the network.
