What will ESB's new battery plant do for Ireland?

ESB, the state-owned electricity company, has announced the opening of a major battery plant at its site in Poolbeg, Dublin. The battery plant will add around 75MW of fast-acting energy storage to make the grid in Ireland more stable and increase the share of renewables in the electricity system.

What can ESB do for Ireland's Electricity System?

Large-scale battery energy storage projects and Turlough Hill pumped storage power station combine to reach milestone that can help to provide flexibility and support more renewables on Ireland’s electricity system. Today, ESB Networks has announced that it has 1,000 MW (one Giga Watt) of electricity storage connected to Ireland’s network.

How does electricity storage work in Ireland?

For context, peak demand on Ireland’s electricity system is approximately 5.5 GW. Electricity storage systems such as utility-scale battery projects also provide essential backup services to the grid that help to keep the electricity supply secure, reduces carbon emissions and ultimately reduces costs to the consumer.

Which battery energy storage systems are available in Ireland?

The Kylemore Battery Energy Storage System in Dublin went into operation in 2023 and has the capability of providing 30MW of fast-acting storage. The South Wall Battery Energy Storage System went live in 2023 and has the capability of providing 30MW of fast-acting energy storage.

How many MW of battery storage capacity are there in Ireland?

We currently have more than 300MWs of battery storage capacity in operation in Ireland, making it one of the largest battery portfolios in Europe. We plan to develop a pipeline of large scale battery projects, as well as additional renewable enabling technologies.

What will the ESB Poolbeg battery plant do?

The ESB Poolbeg battery plant will add around 75 MW of fast-acting energy storage to make the grid in Ireland more stable.