Offaly company big winner in new power generation auction

AN Offaly company's plan for a new gas-fired power station has been boosted by its success in the Eirgrid auction on Friday.

In all, Lumcloon Energy is involved in three projects given the go-ahead by the electricity grid operator.

Lumcloon Energy is the company behind the proposal from Castlelost Flex Gen Ltd for a 250MW gas plant near Rochfortbridge, not far from the Dublin-Galway motorway.

Lumcloon is headed up by Tullamore-based businessman Nigel Reams, a pioneer in new power generation and battery storage facilities.

The Midlands electricity generator being planned by the Offaly company is one of nine gas plants provisionally declared winners in the auction results.

A total of 1,100MW of power will be provided by the nine gas-fired stations across Ireland which are scheduled to come on stream from 2024.

Lumcloon Energy's planning application for the Rochfortbridge project is still with Westmeath County Council and a decision is expected by March 22 next.

The overall cost of the facility has been estimated at €500 million and hundreds of jobs would be created during construction.

Lumcloon Energy is also involved in two of the successful battery projects announced by Eirgrid on Friday.

Shannonbridge Power (B) is a 27.302MW plant which the developer says will also comprise a synchronous condenser.

The gas-fired power stations and the battery storage facilities aim to back up Ireland's growing network of wind generation.

The third project involving Mr Reams will be located in Rhode, where the Rhode Energy Storage company already has planning consent for a 14.25MW battery development.

Eirgrid's capacity auction process, which operates on an all-island basis, is the primary method for securing new electricity generation capacity that is needed to replace the capacity of oil and coal fired stations expected to close and to support the growth of renewable electricity and to ensure security of electricity supply.

Minister for Environment, Climate & Communications Eamon Ryan TD said: “The Government has set an ambitious target of up to 80% of electricity consumption to come from renewable sources by 2030. This is double the current share of renewable electricity and will require development of significant levels of wind and solar generation. It also requires flexible gas-fired generation and storage that can support the variable nature of renewable electricity production and ensure security of electricity supply as we phase out coal and oil for generation.”

“The Climate Action Plan sets out the need for circa 2,000 MW of gas-fired generation over the period to 2030. This generation will replace existing high-emitting power stations and is expected to spend much of its time in reserve to operate only when needed. The provisional auction results published today are a key step towards delivering the generation needed. It is now vital that these projects are developed.”