A total of 80 new wind and solar projects have provisionally been awarded strike prices in Ireland’s latest Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS 2) auction.
The developments, which amount to 1.9GW, were chosen from 130 renewable energy projects that participated in the auction.
Some 50 projects totalling 998MW of capacity submitted into the auction did not qualify for the state support.
It represents an increase on RESS-1, which saw 1.2GW of capacity awarded.
However, auction runner EirGrid reported an average strike price for all projects of €97.87/MWh, compared to €74.08/MWh offered to projects in the inaugural 2020 round.
The average price granted for community-based projects has also risen, from €104.15/MWh in RESS 1 to €116.41/MWh in RESS 2.
Solar has once again led the pack, accounting for all but 11 projects that successfully applied for the price mechanism.
Large-scale PV projects to have provisionally won contracts include Soleire Renewables’ 120MW Ballyroe, East Laois Solar Farm Limited’s 80MW Loughteague and Joriclo’s 80MW Gaskinstown.
A total of 414MW of new onshore wind capacity has been granted with projects that have provisionally been awarded contracts including 104.4MW Yellow River, which SSE Renewables acquired from Green Wind Energy (Wexford) Ltd in 2019, and Bord Na Mona’s 105MW Derrinlough Wind Farm.
Under the RESS scheme, the projects will be eligible to receive a guaranteed price for up to 16.5 years of their lifespan.
Final auction results will be published on 15 June, pending approval of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.