Renewable Energy Ireland has published the response it made to the consultation, concluded in January, on the development of an Energy Storage Policy Framework for Ireland.
Dr Tanya Harrington, Chairperson of Renewable Energy Ireland, said: “Energy storage will be critical to Ireland’s energy transition. Storage technologies can provide a range of valuable services such as grid stability, security of supply and flexibility to optimise our renewable energy resources and decarbonise multiple sectors of the economy.”
Also highlighted by Renewable Energy Ireland in the submission are the following key points:
- That this consultation focuses on electricity storage, but it is important to consider that storage encompasses a broad range of technologies and applications which can help decarbonise other sectors of the economy besides electricity.
- For example, green hydrogen and thermal storage are called out in the consultation and will have important roles in relation to decarbonising sectors such as heat, transport and other areas of the economy where carbon emissions will be hard to abate. The decarbonisation of these sectors must be supported too through targeted policies and incentives. It is important that this policy framework is well integrated with strategies relating to hydrogen, the heat sector and other relevant areas to ensure that the broader benefits of energy storage can be realised.