Slim pickings for wind in Ireland’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme tender

Ireland’s second Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS 2) auction is complete, with publication last Friday of provisional results by transmission grid operator EirGrid.

Fourteen wind projects for a total 414MW of capacity were successful.

Final results, subject to approval by the environment minister and government, will be issued on 15 June.

A total of 80 out of the 130 renewable energy projects that qualified to participate in the auction were successful. The average strike price of bids was €97.87/MWh.

The selected projects represented 1,948.20MW of capacity, of which 414MW related to 14 onshore wind projects, and the remainder to solar. Only 29.05MW of wind power was unsuccessful, against 970.75MW of solar.

The two largest winning wind projects were Derrinlough and Yellow River, both located in County Offaly.

Under RESS2, renewable energy projects bid for capacity at a guaranteed price for the electricity they generate for a maximum of 16.5 years.

The auction process supports Ireland’s ambition to achieve 80% of renewable electricity by 2030. RESS 2 is the second of four auctions scheduled between 2020 and 2025.