Report questions plan to export wind energy to UK

Commercial viability of wind exports ‘uncertain’.

A report commissioned by anti-pylon groups has questioned the commercial rationale behind Eirgrid and the Government’s tentative plans to export large volumes of wind energy from Ireland to the UK and possibly France.

According to the study by BW Energy, Eirgrid’s plans to connect large volumes of wind power to an upgraded electricity network would have a “destabilising effect” on the network unless some of that power is exported via interconnectors to prevent “overload”.

But the authors argued the “commercial viability of such exports is far from certain”. It argued Irish wind exports won’t be competitive and hence they won’t be bought by the UK and on the European mainland.

Malcolm Brown and Anthony White of BW Energy, in a report commissioned by ReThink Pylons, said that the exports plans are “without sound foundation”.

“The BW report reinforces an earlier conclusion by the Irish Academy of Engineering, that Irish exports will not be sufficiently competitive for the UK or Continental European markets. They will, for example, be in direct competition with UK offshore wind for which the British Government has already indicated it will not agree to pay more than €120/MWh in 2020. Irish wind power exports, with a price close to €140/MWh, are unlikely to meet this target,” the authors write.

They also said the €3.8bn spend on Grid25 and another interconnector will likely be passed on to consumers.

Last night, ReThink Pylons was “calling on the Government to re-examine its energy policy and is asking for a fundamental rethink of Grid25, GridLink and associated projects”.

But an Eirgrid spokesman dismissed the study as “seriously flawed”. The Grid25 infrastructure is “for the benefit of Irish consumers”.

“Grid25 projects are internal to the Irish system. They are planned to reinforce the Irish transmission network and continue to ensure security of supply for all electricity users,” he said.