Renewable Energy Support Scheme

  • Low carbon generation

    RESS-won: renewables on the march

    Yesterday will be remembered as a good day for the Irish renewables industry, with the level of supported renewables capacity set to grow by over a quarter in the next 2-3 years. After years of waiting, the first Renewable Energy Support Scheme auction (RESS-1) results are here (provisionally, pending appeals)....

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Low carbon generation

    Will the neighbourhood get a windmill?

    With the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) auction scheduled to kick off this June, community projects have been given a special preference category as part of the auction design. The question remains, will this be enough to spark a change in how we develop, operate and own assets in the...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Wind Of Change: What’s this, more RESS talk!

    There’s no shortage of speculation regarding the upcoming Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) auctions, however, we should spare a thought for our friends in Eirgrid who own the challenge of operating this relatively highly dominated renewable energy saturated system. This challenge is getting tougher, with the forecasted additional wind and...

  • Low carbon generation

    Take That: Will solar applications see the light of RESS?

    The capacity available through the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) will see competition high as the long-awaited subsidy scheme for renewables opens its auction doors on 16 June 2020. The RESS will provide relief to new entrants offering renewable capacity, following the closure of the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff which...

  • Low carbon generation

    Always sunny in RESS: The gang gets an auction

    With the excitement around the potential for a rejuvenated renewable market, it is easy to overlook just how few projects could get a RESS contract at the auctions this June. With between 1GWh – 3GWh available, the competition could be high. Here, James Goldsmith looks at the size of the...

  • 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...

  • Regulation and policy

    Getting RESStless: ECP-2 proposed decision

    The process of applying for grid connections in Ireland has changed under the ECP process, allowing policymakers to prioritise certain projects. The first stage, ECP-1 occurred in 2018 and now the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) have published the Enduring Connection Policy Stage 2, or ECP-2 proposed decision. This week...

  • Low carbon generation

    Under pressure: Price cannibalisation in the SEM

    After the publication of Project Ireland 2040 and Climate Action Plan 2019, it looks increasingly likely that renewables will be a significantly larger proportion of the generation mix. This development has and will increasingly see renewable projects look to the wholesale power market to underpin investment, a complicating factor of this...

  • Low carbon generation

    Ireland’s Climate Action Plan – closing the carbon gap

    On 17 June, Ireland’s Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) published the Climate Action Plan 2019. The report sets out cross-sector objectives aimed at reducing the nation’s carbon emissions. In this week’s blog, we look more closely as to how this may be achieved. Click here to view full...

  • Low carbon generation

    One step beyond: First T-4 auction results

    The CRM T-4 Capacity auction is one of the new procurement processes being rolled out in SEM that will determine the future make up of the generation portfolio. The other auctions that will have an impact over the coming year will be the DS3 capped procurement and the Renewable Electricity...

  • Low carbon generation

    Good thing: 70% renewables and the looming shortfall

    The government has recently announced that Ireland will no longer be behind the rest of Europe when it comes to climate action. The announcement that 70% of electricity generated would come from renewables by 2030 was welcomed by many. It’s a great ambition but how realistic is it? In this...

  • Low carbon generation

    Through the dark: Transformation for community energy

    Community energy generation in Ireland is currently at a nascent stage, but developments in 2019 could see it become a major player in energy generation. Most community energy funding is spent on energy efficiency rather than energy generation. Our research indicates that there is as little as 6MW of community-owned...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    REFIT extension and avoiding EU fines

    The Government is staring into a substantial headwind of between €98mn and €500mn in EU fines for missing 2020 energy targets. The Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS), the mechanism that was supposed to add further renewable capacity to the system to avoid those fines, has yet to get out of...

  • 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

    House of the Rising Sun… solar’s time to shine?

    The eagerly awaited results of the first Enduring Connection Policy (ECP-1) batch application process have finally been released. This is a new system for granting connection offers for storage capacity and new generation that succeeds the previous non-Group Processing Approach (non-GPA) and “Gate” systems. The grid application process has been...

  • Low carbon generation

    Danger Zone: Ireland’s emissions pathway

    The Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) released the terms and conditions for the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH) on 7 August. DCCAE has recently been active in the environmental space, announcing the following since the beginning of June: €500 million Climate Action Fund; Sectoral Planning Guidelines...

  • Low carbon generation

    Every rose has its thorn: the importance of public awareness to domestic solar PV take-up

    Minister Naughten announced that a new scheme for rooftop solar for residential customers, starting on the 31st of July. The new scheme sees a grant administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for domestic solar PV installation on houses built before 2011. The pilot grant will run until 2020...

  • Low carbon generation

    Sunny afternoon – Ireland’s wind drought

    As the sun continues to bathe Ireland and Northern Ireland, spare a thought for the System Operator (SO). This enduring, recent (and unlikely) spell of good weather has a noticeable impacted on renewable generation across the island. What Met Éireann termed “dry, settled weather” is due to a high-pressure system...