Wind farmers connect to grid

THE ban on connecting windfarms to the national power network is set to be lifted after the energy regulator issued new guidelines over the weekend.

Commissioner for Energy Regulation Tom Reeves said the ban should be ended and ordered the ESB agencies responsible for the power network to resume processing of applications from windfarm developers for connection to the national grid.

The ban came into force last December after ESB National Grid, which operates the country’s network of power lines, said windfarm operators needed to meet strict technical standards before they could be connected to the network. Failure to do so could disrupt the national power supply and lead to US-style blackouts, the grid operator said.

ESB National Grid, which will be renamed Eirgrid shortly, had been concerned about technical issues relating to the grid’s operation.

Wind currently accounts for just 3% of total power supplies, or enough to meet the requirements of 170,000 homes. But contracts have been awarded to allow windfarm operators to increase this to 13%.

Mr Reeves’s new guidelines threw out a proposal by ESB National Grid to block applications until studies had been completed to measure the overall impact of wind generation on the performance and security of the power network. Mr Reeves said the proposal, if implemented, could mean that the ban would be left in place for an indefinite period.

“It would appear to be more than is necessary or proportionate to deal with the underlying problem,” he said. But Mr Reeves also said that these studies were necessary in their own right and called on the ESB to carry them out.

Mr Reeves noted other concerns raised by ESB National Grid and said the agency was right to insist on detailed technical models to accompany applications for connection. The regulator also moved to approve a new set of rules governing wind energy requirements, which it said would apply to all future applications.

A recent report commissioned by energy regulators on both sides of the border said there was a need for measures to restrict wind generation at certain times to prevent overloading the power network. These will be put in place before next year.