innogy builds its first battery storage facility in Ireland

innogy has taken the final investment decision (FID) for a large-scale battery storage facility in the country. The 60-megawatt (MW) facility will be located in the Irish county of Monaghan within the vicinity of Lisdrumdoagh. The construction will start this year. The commissioning is scheduled for 2021. After full commissioning, the battery storage plant will provide system services to the national grid and will expand innogy’s renewables portfolio in Ireland.

Sven Utermöhlen, Senior Vice President Renewables Operations at innogy SE, said: “I am proud that we are making our first significant utility-scale battery storage investment, not just anywhere, but in Ireland, a market with a strong commitment to renewable energies and a dedicated support for battery storage. Ireland is an excellent starting point for us as we look to expand and grow our battery storage technology business.”

Cathal Hennessy, Managing Director of innogy Renewables Ireland, adds: “This battery storage facility makes an important contribution to the successful realisation of the Irish energy transition. This is because storage technologies help to provide an important link between modern grids and intermittent generation, by storing excess renewable energy for use when required.”

As the growth of renewable generation continues to replace conventional power generation in Ireland, there is an increasing challenge for the grid operators to safely manage imbalances in the system, which can include the curtailment of wind generators. Large storage systems, like the battery facility planned in Lisdrumdoagh, will respond in less than 150 milliseconds to frequency changes, importing or exporting electricity from the grid as needed. As a result, battery storage schemes help not only to even out the fluctuating feed-in from renewable energies, but also to efficiently stabilise the grid and guarantee a reliable electricity supply.

After commissioning, the battery storage system in Lisdrumdoagh will have the ability to deliver 60 MW of power, enough capacity to power around 125,000 homes. The planned investment volume for the Lisdrumdoagh storage facility amounts to about €25 million in total.

In line with the company’s strategy, innogy reviews all options regarding the future ownership and financing structure of its assets to maximise value for the company and shareholders.

Ireland is an important growth market for innogy

As a result of innogy’s expansion into the Irish market, in 2016 it established the subsidiary innogy Renewables Ireland Ltd. In 2018, the company constructed, and now operates the 10.2MW Dromadda Beg Onshore Wind Farm, located in County Kerry, innogy’s first onshore wind farm in the country. The Irish development team is exploring further renewable opportunities including further onshore wind and battery storage locally. In addition, innogy is leading the development of Dublin Array Offshore Wind Farm. In 2018 innogy partnered with the Irish company Saorgus Energy to continue the development of the planned up to 1,000 MW project located in the Irish Sea, off the coast of Dublin.