Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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116. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to indicate the progress made on each of the 10 actions set out in the Electricity Storage Policy Strategy published last year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45066/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Electricity Storage Policy Framework for Ireland published by my Department in July 2024 included 10 Government actions to support the role of electricity storage systems in Ireland’s energy transition.

Engagement with the Joint System Operator Programme has commenced in relation to Action 2, the emerging technology sandbox.

Action 4, the hosting of a stakeholder forum was completed in November 2024.

Action 6 has commenced with the first round of procurement of the ESB Network ‘Demand Flexibility’ product expected to begin in Q3, 2025. The first public consultation for the EirGrid ‘Long Duration Energy Storage’ product is expected in Q3 2025 with the first round of procurement expected by end of Q4, 2027.

Action 1, technology neutral approach, action 3, storage and system services working group and action 5, support access to the wholesale electricity markets etc., are ongoing policy actions.

Action 7, quantity consultation to establish the optimal storage requirements between 2030 and 2040 and action 8, financial consultation around market mechanisms, are in their initial stages of development, while action 9, market framework and action 10, route to market for identified optimum long duration electricity storage requirements for 2030 to 2040, will only commence if required depending on the outcomes of actions 7 and 8.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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117. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to what extent the inability to dynamically share a contracted Maximum Export Capacity (MEC) between different technology types sharing a single connection point is limiting the development of hybrid renewable energy generation and electricity storage; the steps being taken to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45067/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity sector is a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) which is an independent regulator, accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas and not the Minister. The CRU was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity sector following the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999 and subsequent legislation.

The CRU are responsible for, inter alia, rules governing grid connections, including hybrid connections. Under CAP 23, the CRU are tasked with ensuring that hybrid technology grid connections are facilitated; work on this action is progressing following engagement with the system operators, EirGrid and ESBN. Hybrid connections consist of the connection of different forms of generation to the grid through a single connection point and can help to optimise the use of grid capacity and limit the need for costly grid upgrades.

Currently it is possible to obtain a hybrid connection, for various forms of generation, on the Irish system for a single legal entity at a connection point. The CRU are now working to develop policies to remove barriers to facilitate additional hybrid connections and have split this workstream into three parts: Removal of Installed Capacity Cap; Sharing of Maximum Export Capacity; and Supporting Multiple Legal Entities. Firstly,

In January 2024, the CRU published its decision paper revising its existing policy on installed capacity caps for generation projects and removing the Installed Capacity Cap for both single technology and hybrid co-locations (effective from June last year).

Secondly, the CRU published a consultation on the sharing of the MEC behind a single connection point in on 13th March 2025 with a decision to follow before the end of the year.

Thirdly, the CRU are progressing work on allowing multiple legal entities to own separate generation assets behind a single connection point and are currently undertaking an analysis of the legislative changes required in respect of barriers that have been identified.

Once this work has been completed, CRU will publish a Roadmap for the Removal of Barriers to Allow Multiple Legal Entities Behind a Single Connection Point.

The matters raised in this question are operational matters for the CRU and is not a matter in which I, the Minister, have a function. As such the Deputy may wish to engage CRU directly. The CRU have a contact email address for Deputies should they wish to raise matters of concern or seek updates on investments in the national electricity grid (oireachtas@cru.ie).

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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118. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government whether his Department has examined the cap-and-floor mechanism announced by the UK Government in 2024 for the electricity storage sector; if consideration has been given to the introduction of a similar mechanism here in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45068/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Department has noted the content of the United Kingdom’s recently published Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) Call for Tender, which was published by OFGEM, the energy regulator for Great Britain.

In line with Action #6 of the Electricity Storage Policy Framework for Ireland (ESPF), which was published by my Department in July 2024, EirGrid, under the direction of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), is developing a procurement mechanism to procure 500 MW of long-duration electricity storage (LDES) to the transmission system.

The LDES product is in its initial stages with two separate public consultations expected in 2025 and 2026, which will be followed by the 1st round of procurement in 2027. The first public consultation is due in quarter 3 2025 and is expected to include details on possible funding approaches.

It is important to note that responsibility for the regulation of the electricity sector is a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) which is an independent regulator, accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas and not the Minister. The CRU was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity sector following the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999 and subsequent legislation.

The matters raised in this question are operational matters for the CRU and is not a matter in which the Minister, has a function. As such the Deputy may wish to engage CRU directly. The CRU have a contact email address for Deputies should they wish to raise matters of concern or seek updates on investments in the national electricity grid (oireachtas@cru.ie).