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Iberdrola launched its first commercial-scale battery plant in Ireland. The Gorman facility, which has a 50-megawatt (MW), power output of 25MWh, was also built by Iberdrola in Ireland. It is the first renewable project the company has constructed in Ireland for more than 25 years.
The system, located in County Meath in the east of Ireland is composed of over 4,000 modules and 16 containers. It occupies an area roughly the same size as a football field. This project was the first in Ireland and required a 28 million euro investment.
The Gorman battery’s commissioning is the culmination the main initiative of the DS3 program, which was developed by EirGrid (the Irish transmission grid operator) and SONI (the Irish electricity grid operator). This programme aims to strengthen the grid in the face increased renewable generation. The Gorman battery will be used by EirGrid for six year, and contributes to the safety and sustainability of the Irish grid. It also helps achieve the 2050 emissions neutrality goal.
The company plans on expanding this storage system to increase its capacity to 100 MW in the future.
STORAGE COMMITMENT
The Iberdrola group has made energy storage one of its strategic commitments in the next years. Already, the company has a global battery capacity totaling 193 MW. With a portfolio of 1,100MW, this technology will continue to grow. These include 900 MW for projects in the United Kingdom, 100 MW for projects in Spain, Portugal and 100 MW for installations in Australia.
Iberdrola continues to be committed to storage via electric pumping. Iberdrola has a leading installed capacity of nearly 4,500 MW in projects like Cortes-La Muela in Valencia – Europe’s largest such installation – and Tamega, which is currently under construction in Portugal.
The Giga battery is an investment worth more than EUR1.5billion. It includes three dams and three power stations (Gouvaes – which have already been commissioned –, Daivoes and Alto Tamega) that combine to produce 1,158 MW. The large-scale renewable infrastructure will be able to store enough power to supply two million Portuguese households with electricity for an entire day. This complex will provide 880 MW of electricity generation capacity, which is more than 30% more than the current megawatts.
IRELAND: A PLATFORM FOR REENEWABLE GROWTH
Ireland is one the Iberdrola Group’s key platforms for renewables growth. Together with DP Energy, the company plans to develop 3,000 MW offshore wind projects in Ireland.
These include the Inis Ealga floating offshore wind farms off Co. Cork, and Clarous off the west coast of Co. Clare and the Shelmalere offshore fixed foundation wind farm off Ireland’s east coast. Each project will have a capacity of 1,000 MW and can supply clean energy to more than 2.8 million homes.
Iberdrola plans to invest EUR100 million in new storage and onshore renewable projects in Ireland by 2025. Iberdrola’s projects in Ireland include the repowering of and hybridization with batteries at the Barnesmore windfarm in County Donegal (Ireland), Rigged Hill and Corkey, Elliots Hill and Callagheen, Northern Ireland.
The company’s sustainable growth strategy, which focuses on the promotion of electrification of society through investments in renewable energies and electricity grids, has allowed it to become a global leader in energy and first in Europe in its sector by capitalization with a stock exchange value of approximately EUR70 billion.
