Ireland

  • Low carbon generation

    Q4 2023 All-Island Power Market Outlook to 2030 overview

    This report provides an annual overview of trends for the All-Ireland Power Market out to 2030 using outputs from Cornwall Insight’s latest forward curve for the All-Island (AI) Single Electricity Market (SEM) covering Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This publication is based on comprehensive market and asset-level power...

  • Low carbon generation

    Government publishes Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2023

    This article is an extract from our Energy Spectrum Ireland service, which is a monthly publication and weekly news bulletin covering key developments in the Irish and Northern Irish energy sectors. If you are interested, we are currently offering a free trial which you can sign up to by filling...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Delays to onshore wind investment increase long-term power prices in Ireland

    Note: Cornwall Insight Ireland release the 'All-Island Power Market Outlook 2023' on a quarterly basis. The increase in long-term power prices refers to the comparison with our Q3 Power Market Outlook released in October 2022. Data from our fourth - ‘All-Island Power Market Outlook to 2030’ – has forecast that...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    EV Charge Points

    As part of the Climate Action Plan, Ireland has committed to having nearly one million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2030. To help encourage the uptake of EVs, a number of incentives have been put in place such as tax subsidies and generous grants toward the purchase of a new or...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    EV Demographics: Urban vs. Rural

    From a weather and geography standpoint, Ireland is an excellent country for an electric vehicle (EV) takeoff. It is a small island; there is partial national ownership of electrical supply; the climate is relatively mild; and the landscape is EV friendly (there is no major mountain pass or tough terrain through which people must cross). Additionally,...

  • Power and gas networks

    Electricity and gas tariffs on the rise in Ireland

    The majority of energy suppliers in the Republic of Ireland have enacted several price rises in one or both electricity and gas tariffs. Figures collated by Eurostat show in the latter half of 2020, Ireland already ranked fourth highest for electricity prices in the EU and seventh highest for gas...

  • Low carbon generation

    Analyse thy neighbour: Interconnectors and their importance to future power prices

    Whilst we build towards 2021 and post-Brexit energy markets, focus has been applied to how we in GB strive towards net zero ambitions with a more independent policy agenda. However, regardless of future trading arrangements, interconnectors with EU nations will continue to play a pivotal role in driving wholesale power...

  • Low carbon generation

    RESS-1 application closing date is further extended

    With a lot of uncertainty around the impacts of COVID-19 on global supply chains and renewable project delivery we are starting to see the effects in the Irish Energy market, notably the announcement that prequalification for the Renewable Energy Support Scheme in Ireland will be extended. In December 2019, the...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    The next episode: Qualification for T-4 Capacity auction

    The final qualification results for the upcoming 2023/24 T-4 Capacity Auction were published on the 3 April. In this week’s blog, we consider what these qualification results tell us. Click here to view full article

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Changes: Demand falling in SEM

    With the unexpected arrival of coronavirus there has been significant a shift in human behaviour. We are now two weeks removed from the Irish Government’s instruction to close schools and message advising businesses to allow employees work from home where possible, we wonder what has the impact been on energy...

  • Net zero corporates and ESG

    Editor’s Pick Ireland | Clean Energy Package: what does it really mean?

    The Capacity Market Code removes or restricts payments to fossil fuel generators and allows cross border participation in Capacity markets, arising from the Clean Energy Package (CEP). We look at some of the other potential changes in the way EirGrid and SONI operate our energy system arising from the implementation of the...

  • Low carbon generation

    Sail away: Offshore wind vs. RESS

    Last week the European Commission proposed a “Climate Law” enshrining in legislation the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In this week’s blog, we consider the role of wind in achieving this goal, and Irelands role in the European Green Deal. As we would expect, the green deal identifies...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Editor’s Pick Ireland | Taking advantage of the opportunities in RESS

    The Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) has been designed to replace the previous Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) schemes that closed in December 2015. The RESS scheme is designed to help promote the generation of electricity from renewable sources and will ultimately help Ireland achieve some of its Climate Action...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    In the balance: Analysing volatility in the BM

    In this week’s blog, we focus on developments for the Balancing Market (BM) in the SEM.  The BM is where the Transmission System Operator (TSO) can take actions to ensure the transmission system remains within operational parameters as supply and demand changes. Actions here ultimately determine the imbalance settlement price (ISP)...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Editor’s Pick Ireland | Government’s €6 hike in carbon tax sees a mixed response

    This article was originally published on 12 November 2019 in Energy Spectrum Ireland.  Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton and Minister of State Sean Canney have unveiled the details of Budget 2020. Issued on 8 October, the budget highlights the government’s decision to raise the price of carbon to...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    Editor’s Pick Ireland | Do all roads lead to hydrogen?

    On 3 October, Hydrogen Mobility Ireland published its report: A Hydrogen Roadmap for Irish Transport, 2020-2030, which outlines how government and policymakers can facilitate the uptake of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. Hydrogen is viewed as the cleanest fuel used to store and produce energy on demand, dependent on how green the process...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Take on me… Proposed Balancing Mods

    Since the new SEM go-live on 1 Oct 2018, a topic of heated discussion has been the volatility and extreme prices seen so far in the Balancing Market (BM) including very high prices and a greater than expected incidence of negative balancing prices. The highest prices seen in the balancing...

  • Low carbon generation

    Go with the flow: Estimating Celtic Interconnector use

    Last week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a letter affirming plans to build a new 700MW Celtic Interconnector. With the increasing penetration of renewable generation across Europe, discussion of the viability and benefits of interconnectors is also rising. In Ireland, just one interconnector is currently in...

  • Low carbon generation

    Jump: Pricing in SEM up year on year

    2018 has been an exciting year in SEM – certainly in the Cornwall Insight offices. The signature piece of work this year has been the introduction of I-SEM which, although a long time coming, was impactful. Getting I-SEM operational was one of the hallmark pieces of work for the sector....

  • Low carbon generation

    Don’t you (forget about me): a future without coal in SEM?

    Record-setting daily wind generation output, increasing installed wind capacity and new renewable electricity support schemes all make for great headlines. However, the reality that 42% of generation in SEM last month came from renewables doesn’t feel like the exception, but the rule.   This high, and importantly, consistent wind output...

  • Low carbon generation

    Carbon prices: a key driver of emissions reduction?

    Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton was reported in the Irish Times on 29 November 2018 as saying that Ireland is 95% off meeting its binding EU Greenhouse gas targets. Ireland’s draft National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 (NECP) is due to be delivered to the European Commission by 31 December...

  • Low carbon generation

    Take the money and run: REFIT in I-SEM

    With significant media coverage regarding our EU renewables targets (and the fact that we are missing them by a country mile), attention is drawn to how we reduce our dependence on fossils fuels in Ireland. The advent of I-SEM caused a certain amount of consternation in Ireland, as the primary...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Local hero: constraints and security of supply

    Security of supply is back on the agenda. Last week saw the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) publish its Electricity Security of Supply Report 2018. Replicating the analysis from the long-awaited All-Island Generation Capacity Statement 2018-2027 (GCS), it showed Ireland facing potential deficits within the next 6-9 years. The very same...

  • Low carbon generation

    Thunderstruck: participant behaviour and auction outcome

    The move to I-SEM was ultimately intended to create a level playing field for all market participants to result in more competition. Nothing drives competition quite like a constrained auction and, for many developers, the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) Auction in 2019 (hopefully!) and thereafter will be their first...

  • Low carbon generation

    Owner of a lonely heart: Intraday continuous liquidity

    When the I-SEM detailed design was released, many participants were concerned about potential liquidity issues in the Intraday Continuous (IDC) market. It would seem that their concerns have merit. As the first few weeks of I-SEM have certainly displayed low volumes in comparison to the Day-Ahead Market (DAM) and three...

  • Low carbon generation

    Coming the long way: wind forecast and imbalance prices

    Last week wind generation accounted for 56% of the generation mix on an all-island basis. The market also saw significant volatility in the Balancing Market (BM), with the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO) receiving pricing disputes related to early trading in the BM. While there has been much discussion about...

  • Low carbon generation

    Pour some sugar on me: T-4 CRM auction

    With the introduction of I-SEM last week, other releases in the energy market may have gone unremarked, including the SEM Committee’s (SEMC) decision on the parameters for the first T-4 Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM) auction. Making a robust investment case for new-build dispatchable assets has been a challenge in Ireland...

  • Low carbon generation

    Point Break: week 1 volatility in I-SEM

    Since I-SEM go-live on Monday 1 October, the industry has been watching and waiting to see how the design holds up in real life. Although it is too soon to be able to identify trends or draw many conclusions, much of the discussion in the industry has centred around liquidity...

  • Low carbon generation

    Swan Lake… or choppy waters ahead? Credit risk management in I-SEM

    As the SEM market moves towards its Swan Song we consider the implications of risk in the new markets we are joining. Although most of us are familiar with the concepts of credit risk and protecting oneself from the failure of others to pay us, I-SEM introduces a level of...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Roundabout: Reducing complexity in DS3 Procurement

    The DS3 Fixed Contracts Procurement Arrangements Decision Paper, otherwise known as the long-awaited DS3 paper, was released by the SEM Committee last week. The document outlines the framework for how the procurement of DS3 services will be carried out, and how the assessment of bids will be conducted. There are...