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Released May 09, 2022 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Ireland is set to get a new backup gas-fired power plant in Galway on the west coast following a grant of planning permission from Galway County Council.
Permission was granted, despite significant opposition from locals and environmental groups, to EP Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of Czech energy company Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH), which acquired an 80% stake in Tynagh Energy in 2019, which owns and operates a 400-megawatt (MW) combined cycle gas-fired power plant at Tynagh in east Galway. The company plans to build a 299-MW open-cycle gas turbine power plant, with associated infrastructure at the same site. It is being developed as a "peaking plant" to provide additional capacity at times when the electricity grid is strained due to high demand. Construction is expected to kick off in early 2024 with commissioning in early 2026.
The project is one of nine new gas-fired projects to be built in the coming years to cope with rocketing power demand in the country and to offset power shortages due to the forthcoming closure of older gas, coal and oil-fired plants. The projects--eight in the Republic of Ireland and one in Northern Ireland--will add 1,167 MW of new gas-fired power to the grid. The new capacity is expected to be delivered by October 2024 at the earliest and no later than March 2026. With a full phase-out of coal and oil-fired plants underway, Ireland's government has chosen gas as the fossil-fuel power source to bridge its transition to renewable energy.
"The Climate Action Plan sets out the need for circa 2,000 MW of gas-fired generation over the period to 2030," said Energy Minister Eamonn Ryan. "This generation will replace existing high-emitting power stations and is expected to spend much of its time in reserve to operate only when needed. The provisional auction results published today are a key step towards delivering the generation needed. It is now vital that these projects are developed. The Government has set an ambitious target of up to 80% of electricity consumption to come from renewable sources by 2030. This is double the current share of renewable electricity and will require development of significant levels of wind and solar generation. It also requires flexible gas-fired generation and storage that can support the variable nature of renewable electricity production and ensure security of electricity supply as we phase out coal and oil for generation."
Ireland is facing an energy crunch according to national grid operator, EirGrid. In its Generation Capacity Statement (GCS) report late last year, it noted that "there is the potential for a shortfall in Ireland over the next five winters."
Mark Foley, EirGrid chief executive, said: "We expect system alerts to be a feature of the system over the coming winters, and this winter is likely to be challenging. It is clear from the report that a new, cleaner gas-fired generation plant is required now to address this issue, especially for when wind and solar generation is low. Appropriate volumes of dispatchable flexible gas generation are critical to support the transition to a low-carbon power system into the next decade, as we move to 70% renewables by 2030 and, ultimately, a zero-carbon power system."
EirGrid predicts that over the course of the next five years about 1,650 MW of generation will retire in Ireland, with up to a further 600 MW retiring in Northern Ireland. At the same time, the demands on the system from large energy users--especially data centers--is rocketing and expected to account for 27% of all power by 2030.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
Permission was granted, despite significant opposition from locals and environmental groups, to EP Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of Czech energy company Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH), which acquired an 80% stake in Tynagh Energy in 2019, which owns and operates a 400-megawatt (MW) combined cycle gas-fired power plant at Tynagh in east Galway. The company plans to build a 299-MW open-cycle gas turbine power plant, with associated infrastructure at the same site. It is being developed as a "peaking plant" to provide additional capacity at times when the electricity grid is strained due to high demand. Construction is expected to kick off in early 2024 with commissioning in early 2026.
The project is one of nine new gas-fired projects to be built in the coming years to cope with rocketing power demand in the country and to offset power shortages due to the forthcoming closure of older gas, coal and oil-fired plants. The projects--eight in the Republic of Ireland and one in Northern Ireland--will add 1,167 MW of new gas-fired power to the grid. The new capacity is expected to be delivered by October 2024 at the earliest and no later than March 2026. With a full phase-out of coal and oil-fired plants underway, Ireland's government has chosen gas as the fossil-fuel power source to bridge its transition to renewable energy.
"The Climate Action Plan sets out the need for circa 2,000 MW of gas-fired generation over the period to 2030," said Energy Minister Eamonn Ryan. "This generation will replace existing high-emitting power stations and is expected to spend much of its time in reserve to operate only when needed. The provisional auction results published today are a key step towards delivering the generation needed. It is now vital that these projects are developed. The Government has set an ambitious target of up to 80% of electricity consumption to come from renewable sources by 2030. This is double the current share of renewable electricity and will require development of significant levels of wind and solar generation. It also requires flexible gas-fired generation and storage that can support the variable nature of renewable electricity production and ensure security of electricity supply as we phase out coal and oil for generation."
Ireland is facing an energy crunch according to national grid operator, EirGrid. In its Generation Capacity Statement (GCS) report late last year, it noted that "there is the potential for a shortfall in Ireland over the next five winters."
Mark Foley, EirGrid chief executive, said: "We expect system alerts to be a feature of the system over the coming winters, and this winter is likely to be challenging. It is clear from the report that a new, cleaner gas-fired generation plant is required now to address this issue, especially for when wind and solar generation is low. Appropriate volumes of dispatchable flexible gas generation are critical to support the transition to a low-carbon power system into the next decade, as we move to 70% renewables by 2030 and, ultimately, a zero-carbon power system."
EirGrid predicts that over the course of the next five years about 1,650 MW of generation will retire in Ireland, with up to a further 600 MW retiring in Northern Ireland. At the same time, the demands on the system from large energy users--especially data centers--is rocketing and expected to account for 27% of all power by 2030.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
