Germany : RWE commissions its largest battery storage facility in Ireland

RWE has started full operation of its second and largest battery storage facility in County Monaghan, Ireland.

The 60-megawatt plant in Lisdrumdoagh, three kilometers east of Monaghan, can feed electricity into the grid in a very short time and thus compensate for fluctuations in electricity generation. It also provides a short-term backup to ride through power outages, contributing to a more stable and secure electricity supply in Ireland.

RWE, one of the world's leading companies in the field of renewable energies, is bringing Ireland's second battery storage facility to the grid after Stephenstown, Balbriggan. Stephenstown, County Dublin, has been operational since April 2021 with a capacity of 8.5 MW.

Cathal Hennessy, Managing Director of RWE Renewables Ireland: We have

invested 25 million euros in the development of the large-scale battery storage facility at Lisdrumdoagh. Ireland already relies heavily on renewable energies, and battery storage is specifically promoted. Ireland is therefore the ideal basis for RWE Renewables to further expand the business with battery storage technologies and to advance the energy transition.

Onshore wind farms already produced 37 percent of Ireland's energy needs in the first half of 2020. This clearly underlines the importance of the market for

onshore solutions. The Emerald Isle has set itself the goal of generating 80% of its electricity needs from renewable energies by 2030. Battery storage systems such as Lisdrumdoagh make it possible to react quickly to frequency fluctuations in the grid, because electricity is either stored or fed into the grid as required. In this way, the system contributes to the efficient stabilization of the grid and at the same time ensures a reliable power supply.

RWE Renewables has been active in Ireland since 2016 and is now represented at two locations: in Kilkenny City and Dun Laoghaire in County Dublin. In 2018, the company built the 10MW Dromadda Beg onshore wind farm in County Kerry, the first RWE-operated onshore wind farm in Ireland.

The Irish development team is currently examining other projects in the field of renewable energies. A planning application for the 62 MW Lyre onshore wind farm in County Cork was submitted earlier this year. In addition, RWE is at sea developing the Dublin Array offshore wind farm in partnership with Saorgus Energy with an installed capacity of 600 to 900 MW and driving new wind, solar and battery storage projects nationwide.