Electricity market rules that favour power lines connecting Ireland to Britain are squeezing renewable power supplies off the system, according to a leading industry body.
Rules governing the use of three interconnectors that link the two countries’ electricity networks stipulate that power should flow from the jurisdiction with cheaper power to the more expensive, which mostly means from Britain to Ireland.
Industry group, Wind Energy Ireland (WEI), says the way the rules operate on a daily basis obliges national grid operators in the Republic and North to stop some wind farms and other renewable power producers from supplying electricity.
“There is a lot of renewable energy being wasted,” said WEI chief executive Noel Cunniffe.
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The problem is particularly acute in Northern Ireland, where up to 20 per cent to 30 per cent of available wind-powered electricity can be shut off, he added.
In the Republic the problem is one of several factors that block of up to 12 per cent of green electricity, he estimated.
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The delays in building a proposed high-capacity power line between counties Meath and Tyrone is partly behind the problem in the North, according to Cunniffe.
This project, planned two decades ago, would allow more wind farms in the region to ship electricity south, which would also reduce overall prices, he explained.
Grid manager System Operator Northern Ireland is working on an action plan to mitigate the problem there, said Paddy Larkin, chief executive of Mutual Energy, which owns the Moyle Interconnector, that connects the North with Scotland.
“This is not a new issue or one specific to the island of Ireland as European-wide industry rules and regulations are in operation to deliver market integration, security of supply and consumer value,” he added.
Larkin confirmed that his organisation was working on the problem with organisations across the energy industry.
The Republic’s national electricity grid operator EirGrid said that the north-south power line was a strategic priority.
Prices and European Union (EU) market rules determine electricity flows in and out of Ireland on interconnectors, the State company noted.
“Interconnector flows have changed in recent times, and we are importing more than we were before,“ Eirgrid confirmed.
Industry overseer, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities also pointed out that EU rules governed interconnectors’ operations.
Changing the outcome of their operations would not be possible without reference to those regulations, the commission explained.
Cunniffe, who stressed he was not criticising interconnectors, called for the development of long-duration batteries that can store excess renewable electricity for release over days rather than hours, to help ease the problem.
Suppliers have yet to install this equipment in the Republic, although there are some projects in planning.
The WEI chief executive also noted that more efficient power plants would also contribute to a solution.
