Almost 1300MW of renewables capacity has been successful in the country’s first green energy auction
Ireland aims to reach 70% renewable electricity target by 2030. (Credit: seagul/Pixabay)
Ireland has revealed the provisional results of the first auction round under the new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS-1).
According to the provisional results, almost 1.3GW of renewables capacity has been successful in what it claimed to be the country’s first green energy auction. It includes almost 800MW of solar and 480MW of onshore wind capacity.
The auction is a part of Ireland’s new RESS programme, which will provide financial support to selected renewable projects. The scheme is said to be essential for achieving the country’s 2030 aim to generate 70% of power from renewable sources.
Provisional average price of all projects was €74.08/MWh
EirGrid, which implemented the auction process for RESS 1, said that the average strike price for all projects was €74.08/MWh. For solar projects, it stands at €72.92/MWh.
Climate Action, Communication Networks and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said: “While these results remain subject to Government approval, the first RESS auction provides us with a platform for rapid deployment of onshore wind and solar projects at scale and at least cost, replacing fossil fuels on our energy grid.
“This will be crucial to Ireland’s contribution towards an EU wide renewable energy target of 32% by 2030 and to the 7% per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030.”
Of the total 114 applications, 109 were qualified to compete in the auction. Community projects that participated in the auction reached an average price of €104.15/MWh.
Irish Wind Energy Association CEO Dr David Connolly said: “It is the first big step to connecting the additional 4,000 MW of onshore wind energy we need to develop by 2030 if we are to run our power system with 70 per cent renewable electricity.
“We estimate we could have 6-700 MW of wind energy available to compete in next year’s auction, especially if final planning decisions can be made by An Bord Pleanála in the coming weeks, and there are likely to be a substantial number of solar projects ready to go as well.
Last month, Irish renewables developer Simply Blue Energy announced plans to build 1GW floating windfarm in the Celtic Sea offshore Ireland.