Irish Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien (pictured) has said the sixth round of Ireland’s Renewable Energy Support Scheme auction will take place in the second half of 2026.
O’Brien told the the Wind Energy Ireland conference he expects a “healthy number of projects” to participate in the next auction.
The minister said that projections for 2030 capacity figures have Ireland falling short of its 80% renewable energy target, and said that a well-subscribed RESS 6 would be essential.
Nordex VP for the UK and Ireland Jason Welch said that grid capacity remains constrained and is “an issue that requires courage to fix”, and called on policymakers to make needed improvements.
Welch added that repowering of existing wind farms will be an important part of meeting upcoming targets.
Repowering is “big wind with a small footprint”, he told conference attendees.
EirGrid CEO Cathal Marley detailed planned grid investments following on from the new investment scheme made possible by the sixth Price Review announced last month that will cover the years 2026-2030.
The grid operator hopes to build 876km of new uprate overhead lines, up from the 280km built under the previous period from 2021 to 2025. EirGrid is planning 181km of new overhead lines and 319km of new underground cable, up from the 20km and 83km respectively built during the previous period.