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Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
New batteries based on rusting will help make Ireland's energy secure and clean
One of Ireland's most exciting and important energy projects is quietly being developed at a remote outpost in Donegal, not far from Malin Head. FuturEnergy Ireland, a joint venture between Coillte and ESB, has been granted planning permission to build Europe's first iron-air battery facility, a new technology that promises to store renewable energy for weeks while enhancing and supporting the electricity grid. Known as the Ballynahone Energy Storage project, it will look modest – a collection of weatherproof containers on a three-hectare site beside an electrical substation – but what it represents could be transformative. Iron-air batteries are a new form of long-duration energy storage (LDES) that is needed to help Ireland reduce its dependence on fossil gas and keep the lights on during the so-called Dunkelflaute – periods of still, dark weather when neither wind nor solar can contribute meaningfully to electricity supply. Ireland is particularly vulnerable to such events. We lack large hydro dams or the kind of strong power grid interconnection that allows countries like Denmark or the Netherlands to share surpluses with neighbours. We remain deeply reliant on gas, an increasingly insecure and volatile source of energy, with rising prices, geopolitical risks and high emissions. Plans to allow liquefied natural gas terminals and gas-fired power-generation capacity risk locking us into this dependency for decades. READ MORE There are two main routes away from this: interconnection and storage. Both are needed. Mass interconnection was the cornerstone of the late Eddie O'Connor's vision for a pan-European 'supergrid', where electricity flows freely across borders, smoothing out supply and demand of renewable energy. But even that won't cover us when entire regions are becalmed and dark. Until recently, most storage solutions were either short-duration lithium-ion batteries or pumped hydro schemes – both useful, but limited to hours, rather than days or weeks. A new generation of long-duration storage technologies is emerging. Iron-air batteries, like those planned in Donegal, work on an elegant principle: they store electricity through reversible rusting . They're slow, responding over hours and days, not seconds – but that's exactly what's needed to back up renewables over longer timescales. The key material, iron, is cheap, abundant and non-toxic – unlike lithium or cobalt, which are costly and face supply constraints. Lithium-ion batteries are more suitable for cases where size and weight are a priority, like electric vehicles and phones, whereas iron-air is more suitable for stationary storage. Form Energy, the US firm behind the iron-air technology in Donegal, say their batteries will store electricity at one-tenth of the cost of lithium-ion. They also say it is very safe, with no risk of thermal runaway. Donegal was chosen for a good reason. A greater share of wind energy is curtailed there than anywhere in Ireland, because the electricity grid can't absorb it. This lost energy, known as curtailment, increases our electricity bills, discourages investment in renewables and triggers the need for costly and controversial overhead transmission lines. Batteries located near substations, like Ballynahone, can soak up surplus power locally, reducing curtailment and pressure on the grid. This won't be a silver bullet. A hundred projects like this would be needed to replace the generation capacity of Moneypoint, which has long been a bedrock of Ireland's electricity security – albeit a highly polluting one. Ireland's energy future depends on more than just building wind and solar farms A critical challenge now is how clean storage can compete with fossil gas, when today's infrastructure and market is built around it. While Form Energy says the technology can compete with legacy power plants, the cost of the project in Donegal has not been disclosed and the technology is only at the cusp of commercial development. Ireland also already has a pipeline of new gas-generation capacity which is designed to fill the gaps in wind and solar, diminishing the immediate case for clean storage. That said, legal challenges to new gas infrastructure may shift the balance. Friends of the Irish Environment has recently lodged a judicial review of a proposed 600 megawatt gas power plant at the proposed site of the Shannon LNG terminal, in a case that could set precedent. If gas projects are delayed or blocked on climate grounds, clean alternatives like storage may have more space to scale. Battery technologies, being modular and factory-built, also have the advantage of rapid deployment and steep cost declines – as we've seen with solar panels and lithium-ion. Other storage technologies may yet outcompete iron-air. I'm sceptical that hydrogen will play any role in everyday energy use, but it could become a strategic storage option. Likewise, there are exciting developments in battery chemistries based on sodium, zinc or flow technology, and systems that store energy via heat, gravity or air compression. Ireland's energy future depends on more than just building wind and solar farms. We need energy to be both clean and dependable – when the wind blows and when it doesn't. That requires strategically located, long-duration storage. Donegal's rusting battery containers might be a critical step towards that future. Prof Hannah Daly is professor of sustainable energy at University College Cork
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
ESB board had ‘significant concern' that €318,000 salary was not sufficient for chief executive post
The board of the ESB had 'significant concern' that the salary for company's chief executive was insufficient for retaining an appropriately-skilled person for the role, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications told a Government pay review group. In an appendix to a submission sent by the then Minister Eamon Ryan last summer, officials said at that point the post of ESB chief executive had a salary of €318,000. The department said it was 'considered imperative that the company is led by a suitably qualified, experienced and dynamic leader and the post should be competitively remunerated accordingly to attract same'. The department in its appendix to Mr Ryan's letter to the Senior Posts Remuneration Committee said 'due to the size and scope of ESB's remit, the level of remuneration has been previously cited as an area of significant concern for the board of the ESB in retaining an appropriately-skilled CEO'. READ MORE 'The chair of ESB has also noted the current salary as insufficient to attract the calibre of candidate sought for the role in comparison to alternative employment options available to them.' The department said the ESB was 'one of the country's most valuable assets' as the largest semi-State company. 'Therefore it is critically important for the business to attract, retain and motivate the right calibre of people across all levels of the organisation to deliver on their strategic goals and to meet shareholders' expectations in terms of decarbonisation, energy security, critical infrastructure provision and economic growth.' It said the ESB chief executive at that point had a salary of €318,000. It said the code of practice for governance of remuneration in State bodies urged that pay at the top level should be set in a manner that allowed 'sufficient headroom between the CEO and senior management'. The department told the review group that 'this must be considered in the context of the ESB'. [ Gas Networks Ireland, Uisce Éireann, LDA told Minister chief executive pay limits posed 'serious risks' to organisations Opens in new window ] It said as of December 2023, the ESB had a regulated asset base of about €13.2 billion, comprising ESB Networks €10.6 billion, NIE Networks €2.6 billion, a 27 per cent share of generation in the all-island market and more than two million customer accounts throughout the island of Ireland and in Great Britain. It said the ESB had provided more than €1.5 billion in dividends to the State over the previous decade. Last month following the report of the remuneration committee, the Government signalled it would update rules to allow a 'market rate' to be paid to chief executives in commercial State companies. Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said the Government would implement most recommendations made by the committee. He said the Government accepted the need to update a system for top-level pay determination in commercial State organisations that had been in place for more than a decade and would move to generally implement the recommendations. He said the upper limit on any proposed package would be the market rate rather than 120 per cent of it. However, there would be no backdating of any increases to May 1st of last year, another committee recommendation, and no reintroduction of performance-related bonuses worth up to 25 per cent of salaries, which was also proposed.
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
20pc increase in power cuts in Wicklow with defective equipment and bird strikes causing some of the outages
Figures provided to MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú show significant year on year increases in power cuts across Ireland between 2021 and 2024, with ESB's Arklow region power supply showing 1,725 power cuts in the wider Wicklow area in 2024, up from 1,433 in 2023 and 1,256 in 2021. There were 64,754 power cuts across Ireland in 2024, both planned and unplanned outages, representing a 22pc increase on 2023, where we had 53,067 power cuts. Between 2021 and 2024, we have seen a 40pc increase in the number of power cuts, both planned and unplanned, across Ireland. ESB Networks also provided MEP Ní Mhurchú with a breakdown of the reasons for the power cuts which included bird strikes, weather issues, lightening, overhead refurbishment, overloading, and corrosion. Of more concern was the large increase in power cuts which were attributed to 'defective equipment'. Raising significant concerns about ESB Networks performance in relation to power cuts faced by domestic and business customers across Ireland, MEP Ní Mhurchú has called on ESB Networks to clarify why there is a 22pc jump, for a new system of compensation for householders and small businesses for outages lasting more than 12 hours and said that customers should not be charged for standing charges and levies when the power it out. 'The CRU, our regulator, has raised significant concerns about ESBN's performance in relation to unplanned outages and customer interruptions fining the utility millions for missing clearly set down targets,' Ní Mhurchú said. 'The ESB is a profitable company that should be prioritising increased investment in our electricity grid. 'My worry is that ESB Networks may be trying to cut costs by not investing in our electricity infrastructure to the extent that they should be. Power cuts have an enormous impact on families, in particular as many homes are now passive homes that depend on heat pumps and don't have open fires or stoves. 'Customers deserve an explanation as to why they are facing more power cuts when they are paying the second highest electricity prices in Europe. The least Irish customers deserve is more investment in the infrastructure that delivers that electricity'
Irish Independent
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
ESB denies network is not fit for purpose – ‘wind took down timber and timber took down networks'
Sligo councillors request an ESB contact line so they can report problems raised by constituents Members of the ESB refuted any suggestions that the network is not fit for purpose at a meeting between Sligo County Council members and semi-state organisations and utility providers on Monday morning. The ESB and Coillte were present at the meeting to discuss the impact of storm Éowyn and what lessons can be learned, while eir and Uisce Éireann were unavailable to attend. Related topics Jessica Farry
Irish Independent
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
ESB denies network is not fit for purpose as representatives grilled at Sligo County Council
Members of the ESB refuted any suggestions that the network is not fit for purpose at a meeting between Sligo County Council members and Semi-State Organisations and Utility Providers on Monday morning. The ESB and Coillte were present at the meeting to discuss the impact of storm Éowyn and what lessons can be learned, while eir and Uisce Éireann were unavailable to attend.
