Draft approach 2: Developer-Led

Closed8 Mar, 2021, 12:00am - 14 Jun, 2021, 11:59pm

Developer-Led

Let developers decide where to locate clean electricity generation 

Northern Ireland has a successful track record in adding renewable electricity – over 40% of our electricity already comes from wind generation. This success was due to many factors, one of which was the incentivising of renewable generation. This was the goal of government and regulatory policies over the past decade or more.

As a result, SONI and NIE Networks have connected new sources of renewable electricity, regardless of the local strength of the grid. If this approach continues, we forecast that developers can build enough generation to meet the demands of the 2030 target. However, our studies show that it will be very challenging to expand the grid in time for Northern Ireland to use all of this power.

We estimate that developer-led locations will need around 19 projects to add to or upgrade the grid. These will see new overhead lines or underground cables as well as upgrades to existing infrastructure – across Northern Ireland. These projects will be necessary to strengthen the grid near new sources of renewable generation. They will also be needed to bring power from the remote sites of renewable generation to densely-populated areas where power is used.

The challenge with this approach is the number of projects and the time it will take to complete them. For reasons of safety and security of supply, there are practical limits to the number of major projects we can work on at the same time. We have extensive experience on how long it takes to plan, manage – and particularly gain public support – for grid projects. Given this, we forecast that it would be very challenging to complete this number of projects by 2030.

In the meantime, due to a lack of capacity on the grid, there would be excess power produced that can neither be exported nor used. This means that on a very windy or sunny day we would have to ask wind and solar farms to stop generating electricity.

What work will be needed, and how much might it cost?

This approach is based on 700 MW of new renewable generation coming from inland wind farms, 350 MW each from solar and offshore wind. This option is both expensive and disruptive – with 19 projects and a likely bill of £361 million for grid upgrades and additions.

More importantly, taking this approach means it’s very unlikely that the grid will be ready to take 70% of Northern Ireland’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

EirGrid - Shaping Summary - Cropped Approach Images1

What might this draft approach look like?

At least 3 of the required projects needed to make the grid ready for this approach will be significant additions. These will need to move large amounts of power over long distances. There will also need to be a substantial new substation.

Map of Northern Ireland - Illustrating Approach 2

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