Overview
Ireland’s energy transition is not just about producing more renewable electricity. It is about what happens next.
As more wind and solar come onto the grid, the country faces a practical problem. What do we do with clean electricity when demand is low, and how do we use that same electricity later when demand rises and renewables are not generating? Without storage, Ireland risks wasting renewable energy at one end of the day and falling back on imported gas at the other.
In this episode of The Energy Canvas, host Dylan Walsh, CEO of Celtic Dynamics, is joined by Bobby Smith, Director of Energy Storage Ireland. Together, they unpack why energy storage is becoming central to Ireland’s electricity system, how battery technology has advanced so quickly, and what still needs to change in policy, financing, and infrastructure if storage is to scale.
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What We Cover
- What energy storage actually means in the Irish context
- Why storage is becoming essential as wind and solar generation grows
- The dominance of lithium-ion batteries and what may come next
- Long-duration storage and why six to eight hours is not always enough
- How DS3 helped battery storage take off in Ireland
- Why the opening of the energy arbitrage market matters
- The financing challenge facing storage projects
- What energy storage could mean for businesses and large energy users
- The role of policy in reducing wasted renewable electricity
- Why storage and grid investment need to work together
Key Takeaways
Energy storage solves a growing system problem
Ireland is producing more renewable electricity, but that power does not always arrive when the system needs it. Storage helps shift electricity from times of excess generation to times of peak demand.
Batteries are already changing the grid
Battery storage is not a future concept. It is already helping stabilise the Irish grid, respond to system imbalances, and reduce the need for more expensive gas generation at peak times.
Long-duration storage is the next major challenge
Lithium-ion batteries can do a lot, but they are generally suited to shorter storage durations. The harder problem is storing renewable electricity across multiple days, or even weeks, when wind output is low.
Policy is improving, but finance remains a barrier
Ireland now has a national policy framework for electricity storage, but many projects still struggle with route-to-market challenges and long-term revenue certainty.
Storage is not an alternative to grid development
Ireland still needs major grid investment. But storage can help bridge the gap by reducing congestion, absorbing excess renewables, and delivering benefits much faster than large grid projects can be built.
Why Energy Storage Matters Now
A major theme in the conversation is timing.
For years, electricity was largely a use-it-or-lose-it system. If power was generated but not needed immediately, there were only limited ways to store it. Ireland’s long-standing pumped hydro facility at Turlough Hill proved the principle, but geography limits how far that model can go.
That is why battery storage matters so much now. As Bobby explains, Ireland already gets close to 40% of its electricity from renewable sources, mostly wind, while solar is increasing quickly. Offshore wind will add even more capacity in the years ahead. But more renewable generation also means more variability. There will be times when the system has too much clean electricity and nowhere for it to go, and other times when demand is high but wind and solar output are low.
Storage changes that equation. It allows Ireland to hold onto more of its renewable electricity and use it later, rather than wasting it and falling back on fossil fuels.
From Batteries to Long-Duration Storage
The episode spends time on how quickly battery technology has moved.
Lithium-ion batteries remain the dominant technology today, especially lithium iron phosphate systems. Their cost has fallen dramatically over the last decade, while their efficiency and storage density have improved at speed. Bobby points out that the same container that might have held two or three megawatt hours of electricity a few years ago can now hold eight or nine.
That matters because it has turned batteries from a niche technology into something capable of supporting homes, businesses, and grid-scale projects.
But the conversation also moves beyond lithium-ion. Bobby discusses newer technologies now being developed in Ireland, including CO2-based storage and iron-air systems that could store electricity for much longer periods. These longer-duration technologies matter because Ireland’s challenge is not only about balancing electricity within a single day. It is also about what happens during long winter periods when wind generation drops for days at a time.
That is the next frontier.
The Policy Shift That Opened the Door
The story of storage in Ireland is also a policy story.
Bobby explains how Ireland was actually an early mover when it came to battery storage, particularly through the DS3 system services market. That framework created an opportunity for batteries to provide fast-response balancing services to the grid, which helped one gigawatt of battery storage connect and play a real role in keeping the lights on.
The next stage has been slower. For a period, batteries were effectively locked out of the energy arbitrage market because grid systems were not set up to handle them properly. That changed recently, and Bobby points to the Christmas period as a clear example of why it matters. Batteries were able to charge when prices were lower and then supply energy during peak periods when the system was under pressure.
That has helped support grid stability and reduce reliance on the most expensive generation at exactly the times when consumers are most exposed.
The Real Bottleneck: Financing
One of the most interesting parts of the episode is Bobby’s point that planning and grid connection are not necessarily the main blockers for storage right now. The harder issue is finance.
Developers need certainty. Wind and solar projects in Ireland have had routes to finance through support schemes that give investors confidence over a long period. Energy storage does not yet have an equivalent at the same scale. That makes it harder to raise money, especially for newer long-duration technologies without an established track record.
This is where policy still needs to catch up. Bobby discusses emerging schemes from EirGrid and ESB Networks that are designed to support longer-duration storage and reduce grid congestion. If these schemes develop well, they could help unlock a new phase of energy storage deployment across the country.
What This Means for Businesses
The conversation also brings the issue down to business level.
For many companies, storage is no longer abstract. Bobby says more businesses are now looking at batteries behind the meter, especially where they already have rooftop solar or face high peak electricity charges. The economics are improving, and storage can help businesses avoid the most expensive times to import electricity from the grid.
Dylan also raises an important point around power purchase agreements. Businesses are increasingly looking beyond annual matching of renewable electricity and towards hourly matching, where energy use is aligned more closely with clean generation at every point in the day. Bobby argues that this is where storage becomes especially valuable, because it fills the gap when wind and solar are not producing.
That could become a major area of growth.
Looking Ahead
The bigger picture is clear. Ireland plans to build far more renewable generation than the system can absorb at every moment. That is necessary if the country wants to meet future electricity demand and decarbonise the grid. But without enough storage, much of that renewable electricity will be wasted.
Bobby points to modelling showing that just two gigawatts of additional long-duration storage could cut renewable curtailment by more than half and reduce the remaining fossil fuel emissions on the system by a similar amount.
That is why he sees storage not as a side issue, but as one of the central technologies of the energy transition.
Guest: Bobby Smith
Bobby Smith is Director of Energy Storage Ireland, the representative body for the energy storage industry in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Since 2019, he has worked with members and policymakers to promote the development of energy storage across the island.
In previous roles, Bobby worked as Grid Manager in Wind Energy Ireland and as an analyst in the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, where he was involved in electricity networks policy, security of supply, and the development of the DS3 ancillary services market.
Memorable Quotes
