L'Irlande.

[energy_isere]

Neoen begins building 79 MW of solar in Ireland

October 23, 2024 Blathnaid O'Dea

Neoen said it has started building its 79 MWp Ballinknockane solar farm in County Limerick, Ireland. It is the first utility-scale solar farm in the region and Neoen’s first transmission-connected project in the country.

The IPP said it expects the project to be energized by mid-2026 and fully operational in the first half of 2027. Omexom has been appointed the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the plant, while TLI Group will take on the EPC role for the 110 kV onsite substation.

Ballinknockane will benefit from a contract for difference (CfD) agreement until 2040. On completion, it will generate enough energy to power 16,000 homes. Neoen plans to invest more than €1.8 million ($1.9 million) in community biodiversity initiatives for the site, such as tree planting and insect boxes. Sheep-grazing will also be incorporated.
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https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/10/23/ ... nknockane/

[energy_isere]

L'Irlande va installer son premier terminal de gaz naturel liquéfié

AFP le 04 mars 2025

Le gouvernement irlandais a donné son feu vert mardi pour le développement d'un tout premier terminal de gaz naturel liquéfié (GNL), qui servira de source alternative de gaz et de réserve d'urgence en cas de perturbation de l'approvisionnement.

Une unité flottante de 300 millions d'euros

La future unité de stockage flottante offshore sera "essentielle à la sécurité énergétique de l'Irlande qui poursuit sa transition vers des énergies propres et renouvelables", stipule un communiqué du gouvernement.

Selon les médias locaux, l'installation, d'un coût de 300 millions d'euros, aura une capacité de stockage d'environ 170 000 m3 de GNL (le volume du gaz est réduit d'environ un facteur 600 à l'état liquide). Son lieu d'implantation n'a pas été divulgué.

Le ministre irlandais de l'énergie Darragh O'Brien avait précisé la semaine dernière dans un communiqué que le site fonctionnerait sur une base non commerciale. Il permettra "d'atténuer les conséquences majeures pour notre société et notre économie d'une interruption importante de l'approvisionnement en gaz de l'Irlande", a-t-il déclaré.

Du gaz provenant aujourd'hui principalement du Royaume-Uni

L'actuelle capacité de l'Irlande à faire face aux interruptions d'approvisionnement en gaz arrivant par des gazoducs sous-marins "ne répond pas aux normes minimales de l'UE dans ce domaine", a estimé M. O'Brien.

Le gaz acheminé en Irlande arrive principalement, via des interconnexions, du Royaume-Uni. Les partisans du développement d'infrastructures de GNL soulignent que l'Irlande est trop dépendante des gazoducs d'importation.

Mais les défenseurs du climat s'opposent à la construction de terminaux de GNL stockant une forme de combustible fossile.

https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org ... fie-250304

[energy_isere]

Ireland shuts last coal plant, becomes 15th coal-free country in Europe
Moneypoint in County Clare, Ireland, joins the ranks of other European nations exiting coal by shutting off power generation at its sole remaining coal plant. Industry observers say Ireland’s increased renewable energy generation in recent years, particularly in wind, has contributed to this milestone. Moneypoint now functions as a backup oil burner under emergency instruction, but it is no longer active in the wholesale electricity market.

June 20, 2025 Blathnaid O'Dea


ESB Moneypoint Generation Station

Ireland today (June 20) became the 15th coal-free country in Europe, having ended coal power generation at its 915 MW Moneypoint coal plant in County Clare. Initially commissioned in the mid-1980s by ESB, Moneypoint was intended to help Ireland offset the impact of the oil crises in the 1970s by providing a dependable source of energy.

But with Ireland now generating a lot more renewable energy nowadays, coal burning is no longer such an urgent need. Energy think tank Ember data states Ireland generated 37% (11.4 TWh) of its electricity from wind in 2024. Solar is not near wind levels of generation, (0.97 TWh in 2024) but it has been continuously breaking generation records in recent months and local stakeholders are confident this positive trend will continue.

Following the closure, the Moneypoint plant will continue to serve a limited backup role, burning heavy fuel oil under emergency instruction from Ireland’s transmission system operator EirGrid until 2029.

This strategy is in line with previous plans made by EirGrid and ESB to exit coal-fired generation by the end of 2025, which stipulated that Moneypoint would no longer be active in the wholesale electricity market.

“Ireland has quietly rewritten its energy story, replacing toxic coal with homegrown renewable power,” said Alexandru Mustață, campaigner on coal and gas at Europe’s Beyond Fossil Fuels.

“But this isn’t ‘job done’. The government’s priority now must be building a power system for a renewable future; one with the storage, flexibility, and grid infrastructure needed to run fully on clean, domestic renewable electricity,” Mustață warned.

Jerry Mac Evilly, Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth Ireland, appealed to the government to ensure oil backup at Moneypoint is kept to an absolute minimum and ultimately decommissioned. He also appealed for the government to prevent further development of data centers, which he said are increasing Ireland’s reliance on fossil gas.

“We also can’t ignore that the government is targeting the installation of at least 2 GW of gas power plants with no strategy to reduce Ireland’s dangerous gas dependency,” he added.

On a broader level, Ireland’s step to close coal power generation at Moneypoint sets a precedent for further European countries’ coal exits to come, says Beyond Fossil Fuels. The group tracks European countries' progress on their commitments to switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy. So far, 23 European countries have committed to coal phase-outs. Italy is expected to complete its mainland coal phase-out this summer with the upcoming closure of its last two big coal power plants, while mainland Spain is also expecting to declare itself coal-free this summer.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/06/20/ ... oneypoint/