Wind farms stuck because Mayo’s electricity grid ‘bottleneck’
Wind farms, with full planning permission, that could more than double the current renewable energy capacity in Mayo, may never be built as they can’t connect to the electricity grid.
The grid deficiency was raised at the most recent Mayo County Council Environment SPC and may now sound the death knell for wind farms in Mayo.
Wind industry experts say planning delays have eased, but lack of grid capacity is now the main obstacle, while local councillors blame past opposition to high-voltage lines.
Around 400 megawatts of fully consented wind projects in County Mayo cannot connect to the electricity grid, with industry figures warning that a solution could take a decade or more.
The warning comes from Wind Energy Ireland, which recently launched its Onshore Wind Action Plan. Chief Executive Noel Cunniffe told The Mayo News planning delays were once the industry's main blocker, but that has changed.
“Where decisions were going in, there was uncertain timelines, inconsistency in decision-making processes, but a lot of that now has been remedied over the last two years,” he said.
Projects are now getting answers faster, which has made the next hurdle clear: “The bottleneck that's next up ... is our electricity grid, and that's a much more challenging issue to solve because increasing grid capacity can often take a very long time, sometimes decades,” said Mr Cunniffe.
Mr Cunniffe added there are about 500 megawatts of projects with full planning permission in Mayo. One is under construction and can connect to the grid. The remainder cannot. “So there's probably around 400 megawatts of the 500 that are effectively stuck until a grid capacity solution is created in the region,” he said.
The consequences go beyond energy. Without grid access, investment will not flow into the county, rates revenue is held back and community benefit funds are reduced.
Wind energy firms currently contribute over 16 percent of Mayo's overall commercial rates, approximately €7.5 million annually, which supports roads, schools, libraries and footpaths.
Community benefit funds provide about a quarter of a million euro per year. Doubling current wind capacity could potentially double these rates contributions.
Mr Cunniffe pointed to the history of the Grid West project and the 400 kV line that was due to be delivered in the region more than a decade ago. Before that project was stopped, a lower-specification option was chosen in the form of the North Connacht project, which is currently under construction. At the time, he said, it would have brought the grid in the northwest “up to probably where it needed to be at a 2020 standard.” That capacity is now reaching its limit.
The ideal solution, he said, is reinforcing the regional grid at 220 or 400 kV, which “would create the greatest bandwidth in the area.” But “that's going to take 10 years at a minimum.”
Alternatives being explored
In the meantime, Wind Energy Ireland is engaging with the government on options that do not require new grid infrastructure.
One is long-duration energy storage. “If you can put large scale storage projects in the area, they could soak up the excess wind or solar generation... and then they could give that power back out to the grid at times when it isn't as windy,” Mr Cunniffe said.
Another is to bring demand to the region. Locating industrial consumers beside wind farms would mean power could be used on site or nearby, mitigating the need for further grid development. He described this as "a bit of a sticking plaster while further grid investments could occur," a process that might take 10 or 15 years.
The government is also working on "green energy parks", where industrial facilities would be located in areas with high renewable capacity. The Department of Enterprise is developing a Green Growth Strategy and a Large Energy User Accelerator Programme to identify suitable sites.
Councillors criticise EirGrid and ESB
Cllr Peter Flynn said the situation came as no surprise and was a long-standing problem. “This has been coming at us for years,” he said, adding that a serious grid deficiency was identified around 15 years ago and a 400 kV line was the requirement then, “and is even more so the requirement” now.
He criticised EirGrid and ESB for what he described as a lack of commitment. At the recent Strategic Policy Committee meeting, he said, they “would give no commitment whatsoever in terms of securing at least a 220 kV line.” The rationale given, that they would wait for a planning application before determining requirements, was “completely flawed,” he said. “Why wouldn't you be building to what is planned and what's in the pipeline?”
Cllr Flynn warned the lack of a strategy would hurt inward investment, and said the grid shortfall is “a huge impediment to progress” regardless of one's view on the proposed data centre in Killala.
He also suggested past opposition to the 400 kV line has come at a cost. “Sometimes you pay a heavy price for objections,” he said. “I'm not saying you shouldn't be entitled to object... but when you do go down the road of objection, you need to understand that that can have other consequences, and we're really seeing the consequences now.” He recalled that at the time, “they didn't want any lines, whether they're underground or overground."
Undergrounding and offshore?
Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said industry needs grid investment and pointed to the Grid West project in North Mayo, where the 110 kV network is being upgraded, as a model. “They're undergrounding the wires in that, and that's certainly made it more acceptable to the public,” he said. If networks are undergrounded from the outset, “there'd be much more buy-in from communities, and it could be easier to get through planning.” Better grid infrastructure would also mean fewer blackouts and more certainty around power generation in the county.
Cllr Munnelly said Mayo County Council this year revised its renewable energy strategy to reflect larger turbines, recent departmental guidance, protected sites, national monuments and the location of homes. The new strategy is more restrictive than its predecessor but clearer on where wind turbines may be feasible. He said the alternative would be “a free for all, which is not realistic and very insincere.”
Looking ahead, he argued the long-term solution lies offshore. Sea areas beyond a couple of nautical miles belong to the State, so developers would deal with one owner rather than numerous landowners, and Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) would act as licensing body. Energy generated offshore in Mayo “could be landed in Mayo and utilised in Mayo, and give employment to people in Mayo," he said. “That's the real conversation we have to start having... the land use of it's fraught with difficulties.”
Mr Cunniffe said the industry has been working to improve community engagement, including engaging earlier with local residents. Government surveys, he said, show about 80 percent of people in Ireland support wind energy, and more than 60 percent of those living close to wind farms would be happy to have more renewable energy in their area.
On concerns about noise, he said guidelines are being developed as part of the new wind energy guidelines and modern turbines are quieter. The goal, at the correct distance, is for noise to be lower than “the hum of your fridge.”
The Roscommon native also made the broader case for domestic generation: “We are too reliant on imported fossil fuels. We have some of the highest electricity prices in the world as a result of that ... If we can control our own energy, then we can control our costs better.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.