Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

463. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the storage capacity in the State for gas, oil and electricity respectively; the way in which this compares with weekly demand; and his plans for increasing this capacity including agreed budgets and timelines. [11565/18]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) holds 90 days of emergency oil stocks, in accordance with International Energy Agency (IEA) rules and EU legislation, to be used in the event of a supply disruption.   68% of these stocks are held on the island of Ireland with 32% stored abroad. NORA continues to maximise the level of stocks held on the island of Ireland, subject to storage availability and value for money considerations, in accordance with the Government’s Energy Policy Government’s Energy Policy Paper, “Ireland’s Transition to a Low-carbon Energy Future, 2015-2030”. For electricity, Ireland has a resilient diverse portfolio for power generation including traditional generation plants, renewable generation and electricity interconnection to allow for the import and export of electricity.  Gas-fired generating stations are required to hold back-up secondary fuel supplies to cover 3-5 days in the event of a gas shortage. While technically electricity cannot be stored, two electricity generating plants in particular provide electricity security of supply –Turlough Hill and Moneypoint.

Turlough Hill in Wicklow is Ireland’s only pumped storage power station. It generates up to 292MW during peak demand periods and can go from standstill to full capacity in around 70 seconds by releasing water from the upper reservoir and allowing it to flow through four turbines into the lower reservoir. During periods of lower demand, water is pumped back to the upper reservoir, ready to be used again. This helps flatten the ‘demand curve’ for electricity over any given 24-hour period and so is invaluable to the grid.

 Moneypoint provides coal storage capacity on its site in Co Clare.  The 900MW plant can hold three months of stocks, providing secure supply of electricity for this period. However, both the Government’s Energy Policy Paper and the Programme for Government have committed to identifying a more sustainable replacement technology for Moneypoint before 2020.

In relation to gas, Ireland’s energy security has been greatly enhanced by the addition of Corrib gas. Before this, over 90% of our gas was imported via the two interconnectors with Scotland.  

In 2006 Kinsale Energy’s Southwest Kinsale Gas Field was converted to an offshore storage facility with a storage capacity of 230 million cubic meters. However, in 2016 Kinsale Energy took the decision to close the storage facility. The last of the storage gas was withdrawn from the reservoir in March 2017.

 A number of private sector commercial LNG projects have been proposed in Ireland recently. The location, development and final investment decisions for these projects are ultimately the responsibility of the project promoters.

In line with the Programme for Government and the Government’s Energy Policy Paper, my Department is carrying out, in conjunction with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, Gas Networks Ireland and EirGrid, a study on Ireland’s resilience to a long term gas disruption, which includes the possible need for gas storage and LNG. This study will inform the formulation of future policy measures to maintain the resilience of Ireland’s gas and electricity supply.